


Times of Change

by unknown_knowns



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: AND GAY, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Angst, Choose Your Own Adventure, Choose your own ship, F/F, Fluff and Humor, Humor, Is that a thing, LGBTQ Themes, Past Relationship(s), a gay mess basically, but it is now, but pretty light tone overall, but you're welcome, high concentration of gay, how fluffy or angsty is decision-dependent, idk - Freeform, idk why I felt the need to tag that, just the potential options, not all ship tags explored at once, steph is a BtS spoiler I guess, victoria is compared to a cat at some point
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-11
Updated: 2017-12-05
Packaged: 2018-12-26 15:01:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 47,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12061389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unknown_knowns/pseuds/unknown_knowns
Summary: Max returns to Blackwell.Some things are different.Like Chloe.Some things are the same.Like how girls still confuse Max.Max tries to work her way through high school.Maybe if she's lucky, she'll find a girl that doesn't confuse her so much.(Latest updates: date Vic, freak out w/ Rachel)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> OK so the ship tags are a total mess and I'm sorry for that. Here's why, though: the first chapter or two will setup pretty much of all of the ships, then it'll be a choose-your-own adventure kind of thing to see which Max pursues (or is pursued by, in the case of some of them). 
> 
> Yep. This is what happens when I want to write too many things at once.

### Stare at the photo

##### Day 1, Morning, Shared route

“Max.”

Max suddenly breathed in and looked up.

Victoria.

She was standing with her arms crossed, and looked annoyed, with her face pitched up in bored disdain and her arms crossed powerfully.

But she kind of always looked like that, anyway.

Max sighed and looked away from Victoria – and Taylor, who Max only belatedly realized was right behind her – off to some of the windows along the class room.

“Oh. Hi, Victoria. What’s um. What’s up?”

Victoria grunted.

Taylor whispered something to Victoria.

“You’ve been staring at that fucking photo all class. What is it? Is your next project?”

Max frowned, slightly, and looked back to Victoria.

She brought the photo closer to her chest and shook her head.

“No, um. I haven’t even started on that.”

Victoria’s eyes widened slightly and she raised an eyebrow.

“Then?”

Max just shrugged.

“Nothing. It’s nothing.”

Max sighed and stood up from her seat, suddenly realizing class had let out already and she didn’t even realize.

Victoria just stared at her.

Max nervously put on her messenger bag and started to walk past her –

Victoria inexplicably reached out and snapped her perfect hand to grasp at Max’s wrist –

“Hey!”

Victoria took the photo –

Max frowned deeply and stared up at Victoria.

But Victoria just gave her a much harder glare in return.

And Max couldn’t take the pressure for very long.

Max sighed pathetically and looked away, rubbing at her arm.

“Give that back … please?”

Victoria scoffed.

“Just as soon as you tell me why you’re staring at an old Blackwell class photo.”

Taylor made an inquisitive humming sound.

Victoria blindly offered the photo up with her other hand still supporting her elbow.

Taylor leaned in close to examine it.

Max shook her head gently again.

“No reason. I swear. I just … I like it … and …”

Victoria scoffed.

“Then you won’t mind me tearing this up, then.”

Max blinked and looked forward to Victoria.

“N-no! You can’t …”

But Max didn’t really have the words.

Victoria kept her eyebrow raised at the sudden expulsion of emotion.

“I can’t? Watch me.”

Victoria looked down to the photo and grasped it with both hands and –

“My best friend was in there. But she has like … other people around her. And it feels weird. Seeing her like that. So … I look it at a lot. And think. Okay?”

Max really didn’t want to give Victoria any more ammo to torture her with, but.

She just wanted this whole thing to be over.

Victoria sighed pleasantly and half re-crossed her arms again, so the hand with the photo was raising it to her face, and the other hand was supporting her elbow.

“Was that so hard?”

Max just grumbled.

Yes, it obviously was.

“Which?”

Max blinked.

“H-huh –”

Victoria groaned,

“I didn’t fucking stutter. Which one was your friend?”

Max blinked a few more times.

“Wh-uh. Why do you care?”

Victoria shook her head and scoffed.

“I don’t. Now answer the question.”

Max huffed indignantly.

She looked off into the distance, again.

Quiet.

“Oh pretty pretty please won’t you tell me, Max _ine_?”

Victoria’s voice had this ridiculous teasing edge to it now and Max didn’t understand why in the slightest.

Taylor giggled and crossed her arms, though.

She must have found it amusing somehow.

Max looked back to Victoria.

Her response came automatically.

“Max, ne ---”

Victoria rolled her eyes and gesticulated the photo in a circle,

“—never Maxine yes yes of course you sound like a fucking broken record.”

Oh.

Max frowned.

Victoria was just using her name wrong intentionally.

She apparently knew perfectly well Max’s preferences.

Like that felt any better.

“Can you just give me the photo back and leave me alone? What did I even do to you?”

The only time Max felt like she ever had any footing in a conversation is when she got annoyed and angry or brutally honest.

And intentionally using her name wrong was certainly a way to annoy her.

Quiet.

Victoria frowned, but Max didn’t shrink under her gaze this time.

Taylor whispered something in Victoria’s ear, and Victoria sighed.

“Fine. Just tell me who your best friend is. Or was. And you’ll have your photo back.”

Max kept her frown.

“You promise?”

Victoria rolled her eyes again.

“ _Jesus,_ pushy little bitch today, aren’t you. Yes, fine, whatever, _I promise_.”

The ‘I promise’ had that annoying over-enunciated teasing tone, and Victoria gained this stupid little smile afterwards, and Max hated everything about it.

But did she did want the photo back after all.

“Chloe Price. My best friend was Chloe Price.”

Both Victoria and Taylor were visibly shocked by the news and the both of them recoiled slightly, blinking.

Victoria looked back down to the photo, and frowned.

“ _You_ knew _Chloe Price_?”

Taylor spoke this time, and Victoria spared her the most temporary of annoyed glances before looking back to Max.

Max just sighed.

“I know, I know, I know … She looks so … different now. Why do you think I’ve been ... idiotically looking at some dumb photo?”

Max then just shook her head and closed her eyes,

“Look, just ---”

Victoria shoved the photo back to Max’s chest,

“Chloe’s best friends are Rachel Amber and Steph Gingrich. Those are the people around her in the photo. Rachel is too perfect to even talk to you - don’t even fucking bother - and Steph is … probably right up your alley, actually.”

Max blinked her eyes open about a dozen times and carefully took the photo back from Victoria.

Taylor looked at Victoria inquisitively.

Victoria just sighed and raised a hand to rub at her own temples.

“She does a bunch of nerdy fucking shit. Like dungeons and dorks or whateverthefuck. She burns movies for cheap. She’s alright, I guess.”

Max blinked about a million times, now.

Victoria was being nice?

Max thoughtlessly put the photo back into her bag.

“Um … thanks? I guess? Victoria?”

Every word came out more questioning than the last.

Max didn’t understand Victoria _at all_ , especially not when she could switch between being a bully and not so fucking quickly sometimes.

“Whatever.”

Victoria looked down the nails at one of her hands and ran her thumb over those nails, inspecting.

Max was just so horribly confused by the exchange and after sparing Taylor a momentary look – Taylor had still been looking thoughtfully at Victoria – Max numbly made her way out of the class room.

 

After the door closed, Taylor sighed wearily.

“You were supposed to _compliment_ the photo, Victoria. You’re just confusing the poor girl now.”

Victoria just grunted.

She looked away from the door to Taylor.

“And you were supposed to _shut the fuck up_ , but I guess we all make mistakes sometimes.”

Taylor rolled her eyes and shook her head slightly.

“Well, I’m going to go clean this mess up, before she thinks you hate her forever.”

Taylor turned on her heel.

Victoria sighed heavily.

“ _Wait_. I’ll … fix it.”

Taylor rolled her eyes again.

“ _Uh-huh_. Just like the last time you ‘fixed’ it.”

Victoria groaned painfully.

“Don’t remind me …”

Taylor just smiled, obnoxiously.

“What else are friends for.”

 

\---

 

Max closed her locker.

Her damn heart just about leaped out of her chest when she saw a girl in front of her, revealed by closing her locker.

After blinking away the shock, Max cleared her throat.

“Um … do … do I …”

Max was an incoherent mess at times but she usually wasn’t _this_ bad.

The problem was this girl was ridiculously good-looking.

And it was kinda short-circuiting Max’s brain.

Still, after an awkward second or two, the girl just laughed pleasantly and raised a hand up to wipe a strand of hair away from her own face.

She stood up straight and –

Reached out to Max, to do the same with her hair.

Max’s breathing hitched but her brain finally rubbed enough cells together to remember –

From the photo –

“You’re Rachel, right?”

Max’s voice came out a little breathless and airy.

The girl smiled wider.

“Yeah, that’s me. Surprised you know.”

Rachel crossed her arms and continued to smile.

“You’re Max, right? Max Caulfield?”

Max swallowed.

How did she know?

“Y-yeah. H – “

Rachel giggled pleasantly.

“Oh goodie! Come –“

She immediately took off past Max and thoughtlessly grabbed one of Max’s hands and tugged her along.

Max had no real choice but to be tugged along with this enthusiastic and mind-stoppingly-gorgeous girl.

“Uhhhhhh I have … class … and –”

“—Skip it! This is more important.”

Max frowned, but found herself unable to directly contradict Rachel, and was dragged into the girl’s bathroom all of the same.

 

Whence inside, Rachel sighed pleasantly and released Max’s hand.

She walked a bit further into the bathroom and twirled around poetically, with her arms extended.

“Fresh air.”

Max blinked, but couldn’t help but giggle softly at the show and terrible joke.

Still, she was basically still entirely overwhelmed by this girl’s presence and attitude, and rubbed comfortingly at her own arm.

Rachel eventually stopped and shook her head.

Then she just smiled again.

“So many memories in here.”

Max blinked a few times.

Rachel held the silence for just a bit too long, watching Max’s expression,

“Like tagging and stuff.”

Oh.

Max felt kind of silly –

Rachel turned around and scanned the walls.

“I still see some of Chloe’s artwork, no matter how hard they try and scrub it off.”

Rachel quietly walked over to one of the walls and leaned over a bit to inspect some ‘artwork’.

That was Chloe’s doing?

Just how much _had_ Chloe changed?

Chloe would never commit crimes however petty or significant, like that.

Max frowned a little bit, but eventually found the nerve to walk a bit closer to Rachel.

“Chloe did this?”

Rachel nodded gently.

“Yeah. I remember being with her when she did this one.”

Max took a step or two closer.

_Everyone lies. No exceptions_

She frowned a bit more.

Rachel then sighed pleasantly and stood up straight again.

She turned to face Max.

Max blinked.

“So. I heard you used to be good friends with Chloe.”

Max nodded, slowly.

She was gradually getting used to Rachel’s … everything.

“I um, yeah. Like … gosh, five years ago. But … we haven’t really been … in touch.”

It felt a little awkward coming out, for more reasons than one.

Rachel closed her eyes, and her expression died a bit.

She crossed her arms.

“Yeah. I’ve heard about _that_ , too. It’s really tearing Chloe up.”

Max blinked a few times,

“Oh, um, Chloe, but…”

Max deflated, sighed, and looked down to the floor.

She rubbed at her arm again.

“I didn’t mean to … just … one day turned into two … to three … before I knew it, it was a month and I just …”

Max frowned more earnestly.

Quiet.

Rachel eventually sighed and patted at Max’s shoulder.

Max looked up to her.

She was smiling, somehow.

“I don’t think you did it to intentionally hurt Chloe, Max. Not from everything else she’s told me about you, anyway. But it did hurt her. And that’s why you’re going to the Price household this afternoon and apologizing, and also why you’re going to act like you never met me if you happen to see me there.”

Max blinked only about a million times.

“I … am?”

Rachel patted on Max’s shoulder again and giggled pleasantly.

“You sure are. Because you’re such a good person, right? And it kills you to think that Chloe might be suffering. So you’re going to fix that. Like a good girl.”

Max opened her mouth to say something, but nothing really came out.

Rachel just giggled again.

“Wow, that’s cute. Your mouth gapes and everything.”

Max kept on blinking – now adding blushing to the mix –

Rachel just laughed and pulled away, walking to the exit.

“Anyway. Probably shouldn’t be on campus anymore. I’m sure Mr. Madsen would have some choice words for me. But be a good girl, yeah? Chloe didn’t deserve that.”

Max just still gaped her mouth as Rachel wordlessly made her way out of the bathroom.

Goddamn.

That girl was overwhelming.

Max uselessly raised a hand to play with her own hair.

And just started to think, about everything.

The event with Victoria was already exciting enough, now a graduated senior found a way back onto campus to orchestrate fixing her relationship with Chloe?

The bell suddenly went off, and Max groaned painfully.

Great.

She was late, on top of everything.

Max readjusted her messenger bag and walked quickly to her next class.

She tried to just put all of this stuff out of her mind for now.

She knew she was already overthinking it.

The stares from Victoria and Taylor, though, as soon as she left the bathroom, screwed that effort quite royally.

Did they see Rachel?

Did they see Rachel dragging Max into the bathroom?

Victoria’s glare was intense, and Taylor even looked a little concerned.

Max just quietly made her way past them, and tired not to think too much about why they were glaring at her instead of going to class.

Jeez.

What a freaking day.

And it wasn't even lunch yet.

###### Decisions

This is an interactive story. You will be able to choose some decisions that Max makes, particularly when it comes to which ladies she focuses on. Max will make other decisions for you based on decisions you made prior. It is recommended you use the links at the end of each chapter to navigate the story instead of trying to use AO3's navigation system. Ever read a Goosebumps story? Sort of like that.

[> Try and do homework](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12061389/chapters/27389859#chapters)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Victoria confuses Max.
> 
> Max meets Steph.
> 
> Max blushes.
> 
> Max has a decision to make.
> 
> And it's not an easy one.

### Try and do homework?

##### Day 1, Afternoon, Shared route

After class, Max numbly made her way back to her dorm room, threw her bag to nowhere in particular, and flopped down dead onto her bed.

She groaned and rested her eyes by covering them with her arm and she just.

Relaxed.

She needed time to just recharge, sometimes, and if there was ever a day she needed a break from, it was this crazy one.

First Victoria, then Rachel, and now …

Was she actually going to go to the Price household?

See Chloe again?

Apologize?

Max had already considered apologizing to Chloe so many times over the years.

But it felt like it was too late, now.

Like she could never possibly find the words and put them in the right order to make Chloe forgive her for what she had done.

Maybe the words didn’t even exist to begin with.

Chloe had new friends now.

A new life.

Would Max barging back into it just make everything worse?

Re-open an old wound that Chloe had already tended to?

Chloe probably didn’t even think about her anymore.

They were just –

Someone was knocking on Max’s door.

Max groaned and peeled her arm away to look at her door.

“Who is it?”

Quiet.

“Victoria.”

_What._

Max blinked a few times and fully considered just not answering the damn door.

Since it was Victoria, after all.

All Victoria ever did was bully her.

And that’s almost certainly what she was going to do now.

But some part of her that was more forgiving than the rest willed her into sitting up and walking to her door.

Maybe Victoria was an asshole, but Max needed more reasons these days to convince herself she wasn’t an asshole herself.

Especially with Chloe front and center in her mind.

The door opened, and Victoria was standing there, looking away, slightly troubled, with her arms crossed.

She was impatiently tapping at her arm.

“Took you long enough.”

Max sighed and closed her eyes.

Victoria couldn’t even say ‘hi’ without being a bitch.

Why did she even bother.

“Do you need something? I’m not playing any music or … anything.”

When Max opened her eyes again, Victoria was quietly biting her lip, but quickly stopped when Max saw it.

“It’s not like that. I just want to know why you were with Rachel.”

Max frowned, somewhat.

“Just leave me alone, Victoria. I’m not going to … give you gossip material or … whatever and I –“

Victoria turned her head and looked down the hall.

Max dumbly stopped talking and imitated the gesture.

They both looked back to one another.

The coast was clear.

Victoria breathed in deeply and exhaled harshly.

She closed her eyes, went quiet, and carefully raised a hand up to rub at her temples.

She spoke more to the floor than Max, and her voice was as gentle as Max had ever heard it.

“Please? It’s not for gossip. I promise.”

Max blinked and blinked and blinked but could not believe what she was seeing.

Was she hallucinating, now?

Victoria, being gentle and quiet?

“Um …”

Max didn’t really know how to process this further-confusing update on Victoria, and just fumbled for a few seconds.

Victoria looked away entirely from Max, rubbing at her own jawline now.

Quiet.

The silence was a little awkward.

Max then just sighed, and stepped back.

“Okay. I’ll tell you, but, come in first.”

Max opened her door a bit wider.

Victoria hummed flatly and walked into Max’s room.

She stood in the center and slowly recrossed her arms, but still didn’t look at Max.

Max numbly watched her go and the closed the door behind her.

“Your room is nice, you know. I don’t think I ever told you that.”

Max continued to blink, but still was no better equipped for dealing with the tremendous mood whiplash Victoria gave her.

She sat down on the edge of her bed, rested her palms on the same edge, and thoughtfully looked up to Victoria.

Max didn’t understand Victoria _at all_ , but …

If she was being nice …

“No, I mean, it’s lazy, I just like … string some photos and ---”

Victoria scoffed in that very Victoria way, rolling her eyes and all, but still couldn’t look at Max.

“ _Jesus Christ_ let me compliment you. I _know_ what a lazy room looks like, okay? I’ve been in Taylor’s a million times. This is not lazy, Max, this is …”

She looked over to Max, and despite how annoyed she sounded, her expression was thoughtful.

She pursed her lips, then sighed.

“Intentional.”

Max blinked.

Victoria blinked.

Victoria turned to face Max properly, now, but kept her arms crossed.

This day just kept getting more and more surreal.

“Oh.”

Max didn’t really know what to say in response to that.

She didn’t believe Victoria actually thought like that.

Max didn’t know how to decorate her room.

She was just being nice for some reason.

Surely.

Quiet.

Victoria handled the quiet even worse than Max did, impatiently tapping at her arms and her face shifted and –

Victoria then just closed her eyes, breathed in deeply, and slowly, carefully let a breath of air out.

“Now … Rachel?”

Her voice was doing that gentle thing again.

Max kind of liked hearing gentle Victoria.

It made her more at ease, at least.

Max cleared her throat.

“Rachel um, kind of … dragged me into the bathroom.”

Victoria blinked her eyes open.

“And?”

Max shrugged.

“And then she … guilted me, basically, into trying to fix things with Chloe.”

Victoria hummed thoughtfully, and looked down to Max’s floor.

Quiet.

It was slightly easier to deal with the silence without Victoria staring at her.

“She didn’t come onto you or anything?”

Victoria looked back up.

Max blushed deeply and gaped her mouth.

“Victoria, that’s ---”

Victoria groaned and looked off to the side.

She readjusted how her arms were crossed.

“Don’t give me _that_. Rachel is flirty. Did she come onto you or not?”

Victoria looked back to Max, and she had this weird expression on her face that Max didn’t quite understand.

It wasn’t one of her usual aloof looks, and it wasn’t something annoyed or angry or –

“Because she came onto me. And lord knows who else.”

_What._

Max couldn’t close her mouth from the gaping, but raised a hand up to gently cover it with a hand.

Quiet.

Max had absolutely _no clue_ what to say in response to … any of this, really.

Victoria sighed wearily and sat down on the edge of Max’s bed, with a little bit of distance between them.

Max regained the composure to close her gob and put her hand back down onto the edge of the bed.

“Does that stuff make you … uncomfortable?”

Max looked sidelong to Victoria.

If she had used literally _any_ other tone than this gentle one, Max would have rejected her outright.

But.

Goddamn it.

Max couldn’t help herself.

Not when Victoria was trying to be so gentle.

Why did Max keep giving her so many chances?

“Ah. A little bit. Girls … confuse me, sometimes.”

Victoria scoffed, amused, and looked straight ahead to one of Max’s walls.

She crossed one leg over the other.

“Well, if there _was_ to be a girl to do that, it’d certainly be Rachel. She’s … something else.”

Max closed her eyes and exhaled harshly.

“I couldn’t keep up around her.”

Victoria hummed thoughtfully.

“Quelle surprise.”

Max opened her eyes and she _swore_ Victoria was smiling but –

Victoria stood up, wiped whatever her expression was to its comfortable neutral self, and turned to face Max again.

“Well, anyway. What are you doing tomorrow night, Max?”

Max blinked.

“Nothing?”

Victoria scoffed, amused again, and looked down to Max’s floor for another few seconds.

That smile –

Max was definitely seeing a –

She looked back up to Max, and her expression was once again neutral.

“How about we work on your project then?”

Max blinked and gaped her mouth, hesitating on a response.

Victoria wanted to work with _her_?

On a photography project, no less?

“I, um …”

Victoria had another one of those barely-present smiles.

“You mean working together? … like?”

Victoria scoffed again and rolled her eyes.

“No, of course not. I would _never_ work with _you_. I was just going to sit in your room and complain about every little decision you made.”

Max blinked about a million times.

If that was sarcasm, Victoria was playing it dead fucking straight, and Max couldn’t tell.

Quiet.

Victoria examined Max’s expression, didn’t find what she was looking for, and painfully groaned.

She raised a hand to rub at her temples.

“That was a joke, Max. I’m being sarcastic. Yes _of course_ , working together.”

Max blinked and blinked and –

She breathed in deeply, and tried to just calm herself down.

This day was going to kill her, at this rate.

“Oh, um, sorry, Victoria. I don’t … you just …”

Max trailed off.

Victoria smiled, and didn’t hide it much this time.

“Confuse you?”

Max looked away from Victoria and rubbed at her arm.

“Yeah, I guess you could say that … you’re just so mean to me but then you go and do … all of this and …”

Max looked back to Victoria with a frown.

“Why?”

Victoria kept her smile, and hummed pleasantly.

“Maybe you’ll find out why tomorrow night.”

With that, Victoria broke a hand away from crossing her arms to wave a pleasant goodbye, turned on her heel, and quickly walked out of Max’s room.

Max just watched her go, speechless, and, wow.

The door closed behind Victoria.

Max collapsed onto her bed.

 

Holy shit.

 

Max felt like literally every interaction with Victoria made her understand her less and less.

But she supposed she was working with Victoria tomorrow on her project.

 

\---

 

Victoria entered her room with a shaky exhale.

She pressed her back to the door whence inside and kept rubbing at her temples.

Taylor looked up lazily from her bed.

“How badly did you fuck it up?”

Victoria rolled her eyes.

She cleared her throat, stood up straight, and crossed her arms.

“Not at all, bitch. We have a date tomorrow.”

Taylor blinked.

“Really?”

Taylor’s tone shifted from playful to thoughtful.

Victoria hesitated.

“Yes. I _almost_ fucked it up but … when Max started shutting off, I-I … kept thinking about what you told me … when …”

Victoria frowned.

Taylor frowned.

Quiet.

It was pretty awkward.

Taylor eventually sighed and got up from the bed.

“Well. Glad _something_ good came from all of that, then.”

They both kept their frown, though.

Neither liked the awkward silence too much.

Victoria closed her eyes.

And sighed.

“Yeah. Taylor, I’m sor ---”

Taylor grunted.

“--- Can we not? You’ve got a date. This is a happy time.”

Victoria was more than happy to stop thinking about all of that, and exhaled pleasantly.

Taylor walked up to Victoria.

They both shared a smile for a few seconds.

Then Taylor’s smile turned wry.

“Only you didn’t actually use the word ‘date’, did you?”

Victoria hesitated, then groaned.

“No.”

Taylor smiled wider.

“So she has no clue you think it’s a date.”

Victoria shrugged.

“Probably not.”

Taylor rolled her eyes.

“Give me your phone.”

She extended her hand expectantly.

Victoria looked to it.

She then opened her mouth for a few seconds, but then shook her head.

“I’ll … clarify.”

Taylor rolled her eyes again.

“Use the words ‘gay’ and ‘date’ or I’m stealing your phone and doing it for you.”

 

\---

 

Max suddenly woke up and groaned.

She’d been hunched over on her table, trying to do her damn homework, but.

She just couldn’t focus.

Not after everything that happened today.

She just kept thinking about Rachel, about Victoria, about Chloe …

Ugh.

Max sat up straight and wiped the drool off of her mouth.

Her entire body felt sore all over, and she was inexplicably tired, even though she just finished a nap.

Max looked out her window, and stared at the sun starting to set outside.

And started to think some more.

 

Eventually, she stood up.

 

If she wasn’t going to get any work done, she might as well go over to the Price household and see if Chloe hated her, or whatever.

And at least try to apologize.

Rachel was right.

Chloe didn’t deserve Max treating her like this.

And Max had a strange feeling Rachel was just going to keep popping up until she fixed this mess.

 

Max took public transportation to the Price household and walked the rest of the way there with her hands in her jeans pockets and her head looking down at the side walk.

She still couldn’t stop thinking about everything.

At least she felt a bit less tired after that impromptu nap.

When she reached the Price house, someone was sitting on the steps outside, smoking.

Not Chloe or Joyce or –

Max blinked –

The photo –

That was –

“Steph?”

The girl looked up, took another hit of whatever it was she was smoking, and exhaled it off to the side.

“Yeah?”

Max quietly walked up to her.

She tried to smile, but often her face didn’t obey her when she told it to do things.

Steph looked almost as she did in the class photo, which was to say, like Chloe.

She had hair that went to just past her ears, with some colored highlights.

She went with blonde.

Chloe went with blue.

The jacket she had on looked like Chloe’s in the class photo, but the rest of her outfit was lazier than how Chloe dressed.

Her clothes weren’t nearly as tight.

But still, she had a warm, if slightly confused smile, as Max finished walking up to her.

“You just gonna ask who I am and say nothing, silly?”

Oh – right –

Max sighed, and shook her head.

“S-sorry. I’ve been … stuck thinking all day. I’m Max. I’m loo ---”

Steph’s eyes lit up immediately and went wide.

“--- No shit?”

Step stood up, and carefully re-examined Max.

She hummed thoughtfully, and put out whatever she was smoking on the wall.

“Hmmmm-yeah. I can see that. You look way cuter with mophead hair though. Glad you got rid of that pony.”

Max blinked.

Why did _everyone_ –

Steph laughed.

“Oh jeez I made you blush.”

Max huffed and looked away, rubbing at her own arm.

Steph just smiled.

“Hey look, Chloe’s upstairs, yeah? We should go see her. The look on her face when she sees you is going to be _Priceless._ ”

Max looked back to Steph.

Steph had a ridiculous shit-eating grin.

Max just blinked.

Quiet.

“Oh come on. That was a good one. Imma need you to laugh at my jokes.”

Max exhaled, amused, and looked down with her eyes closed.

“It _was_ pretty funny. Chloe used to make that joke all of the time.”

Steph smiled.

So did Max.

Or she thought she did, anyway.

Steph turned around and opened the door and –

“ _No grass in the house_.”

A perpetually-annoyed voice came from deep within the house.

Steph just sighed wearily.

“It’s out, dude, don’t worry.”

Max could hear some grumbling, but numbly followed Steph inside.

Steph started to walk up the stairs –

“ _Do you have someone else with you_? Living room, ladies.”

That voice again.

Steph groaned quietly and just shook her head.

She spared Max a quick look before walking back down and making her way down the main hallway.

Max wondered who this voice belonged to as she followed Steph.

They stopped just shy of the living room proper.

Max blinked.

Was that –

“Mr. Madsen?”

Steph looked to Max.

Mr. Madsen was sitting down on the couch in the living room, watching some TV and reading the newspaper.

He put down the newspaper and looked back from the couch at Max’s confused question.

“Were you expecting someone else, girlie?”

Max just blinked and quietly looked away.

She never felt comfortable when Mr. Madsen stared at her.

But she ended up just looking in Steph’s direction, and Steph just gently nodded towards Mr. Madsen.

With a slight frown, Max sighed and looked back to him.

“N-no, I just … was curious.”

Mr. Madsen grunted, and stood up.

He turned to face them, and crossed his arms.

“You’re here for Chloe, aren’t you?”

Max nodded gently.

He closed his eyes and exhaled harshly.

“Well. I guess it’s a good thing she’s attracting people like you, now. Go on up. I hope I don’t have to tell you about no weed in the house.”

People like _her_?

Mr. Madsen opened his eyes and looked expectantly at her.

Max frowned some more, but just numbly nodded again.

“I don’t smoke.”

Mr. Madsen made a pleased sound and sat back down on the couch.

“Good.”

Steph just rolled her eyes.

She looked to Max, tapped on her shoulder, then smiled warmly and nodded back towards the stairs.

Max nodded.

As they walked up the stairs, Max only finally put two and two together to realize Steph was smoking weed, earlier.

She gasped internally at the thought.

Chloe had to be so different now to be hanging around potheads …

At least the interaction with Mr. Madsen seemed like it went alright.

What was he even doing in here, though?

Joyce didn’t remarry, did she …?

 

Before Max could get too long to stew anxiously about meeting Chloe, Steph was opening the door into her room and they were both walking inside.

Max immediately started to look around, but her breathing hitched when she caught sight of Chloe, and her gaze was transfixed.

Steph walked in further, not even seeming to notice Max was frozen in place.

“ _Dude_. You owe me _soooooo_ much. You’re not even going to _believe_ what I found.”

Chloe had been sitting down on her table, typing away at her computer.

She looked mostly like she did from the class photo.

More of her roots in her hair were showing in her dyed strains, and her hair was a bit longer, but.

Basically the same.

Only without a jacket on, Max could see a ridiculously-involved sleeve of tattoos on one of her arms.

Chloe scoffed and didn’t even look up at Steph’s teasing words.

“I already owe you a shitzillion and a half. What more do you want out of me?”

Steph laughed, and stopped just shy of Chloe’s computer chair.

She gently crossed her arms.

“What are you willing to pay for Max?”

“To pay for –”

 

Chloe suddenly completely froze.

 

Max felt like the temperature in the room dropped several degrees.

 

She felt even more anxious all of the sudden and –

 

Chloe snapped her head looking away from the computer, and quickly caught sight of Max.

Her eyes widened tremendously and she _bolted_ –

She shoved Steph out of the way –

Max gasped –

Chloe was in front of her in a second –

Chloe tightly wrapped her arms around Max –

Max squeaked –

Chloe tightened the grip even more, to the point it felt suffocating, and –

She _lifted Max up_ –

Max squeaked again –

Steph giggled distantly –

“Dude! Dudedudedudedudedudedudedude …”

Chloe put Max down after the free chiropractic adjustment but kept squeezing her oh so very tightly.

Max felt warm with Chloe holding her like this, at least, and couldn’t help but smile.

“Hi to you too, Chloe.”

Chloe sniffled.

“I missed you so much.”

After what felt like entirely too long, Chloe released Max from the hug and re-examined her.

She was smiling so effusively though.

Her eyes looked like they were sparkling, even.

It took Max’s breath away.

“I … missed you too… Chloe.”

Chloe exhaled pleasantly and just kept her smile.

“I thought I lost you forever, Max.”

Max nodded carefully, and finally looked away from Chloe to nowhere in particular.

“I’m so sorry, Chloe … it wasn’t you, I swear, I just … I’m a dumb idiot and I can’t keep up with ---”

Chloe hugged her again to silence the spiraling.

Max closed her eyes and rested her head against Chloe’s chest.

She brought her own arms around in a hug and just.

Sniffled.

This hug was gentle and warm.

Max felt like she could fall asleep again.

But eventually, Chloe released it, and slowly made her way back to her desk’s chair.

Max blinked her eyes open and followed her.

Though she awkwardly stepped over to the bed and sat down on the edge of it, a little ways away from where Steph had sat down, when she realized she couldn’t exactly just sit on Chloe’s lap or something.

Quiet.

It wasn’t nearly as awkward as Max was fearing.

Chloe looked so happy, and Steph also had this genuine smile on her face.

“Man … I can’t believe this.”

Chloe spoke in a breathless, almost dreamy tone.

Max still didn’t really know how to process the way Chloe was looking at her.

It was easier to just not meet her gaze and see just how much Chloe’s room had changed.

“I can’t either, Chloe … everything's so different now. You, your room … Mr. Madsen …”

Chloe’s expression died slightly, but Steph just scoffed.

“Chloe’s room has looked like this since at least a few years ago. Same with David. You’ve been gone a long time, Max.”

Max sighed.

“I know …”

She looked down to the floor.

Quiet.

Steph squirmed a bit, but then placed a hand on Max’s shoulder.

Max carefully looked up to her.

“But the important thing is you came back, right?”

Max blinked.

Steph looked intentionally and meaningfully at Chloe for a few seconds before returning her gaze back to Max.

Max just nodded.

“I guess… I still feel terrible about it, though.”

Steph nodded.

“Yeah that makes sense.”

She removed her hand from Max’s shoulder.

She then looked to Chloe, and hummed thoughtfully.

Chloe looked to Steph, and her expression was somewhere between confused and thoughtful.

“Hey Chlobear, why don’t you take Max to that concert tomorrow? You can use my ticket. I’ve already seen them live, anyway.”

Chloe blinked.

Max blinked.

“A concert? With Chloe? Sounds like an adventure ...”

She looked to Chloe.

Chloe looked to Max briefly and smiled, but looked at Steph quickly enough.

“What? Are you sure? You said you ---”

Steph just scoffed.

“Nevermind any of that. I’ll just put it on your very long tab of things you owe me.”

Chloe exhaled, amused.

So did Max, after a little bit.

It made Max feel better to know that least Chloe wasn’t all alone during that time she was gone.

“What’ll’y’do then? That dork club?”

Steph just shrugged.

“That dork club has a name, you know. I’ve only told you it a million times. But yeah, probably. Warren says he’s found a _really genuinely terrible_ horror-sci-fi shlocky thing and I’m so down for that.”

Max blinked.

“That sounds … awesome.”

Steph blinked, then laughed.

“Well, you’re free to tag along, if you want.”

She looked to Chloe, and Chloe looked to her.

Chloe then looked to Max, and Max looked to Chloe.

“I mean, it’s up to you, Max. I’d love to mosh with you but … I kinda can’t really see you wanting to go to a loud concert. Movie sounds cool but I'm not missing this band for nothin'.”

Max blinked, and suddenly realized she was going to have to make a decision.

 

Her phone suddenly vibrated in her pocket, and Max hummed flatly.

She mindlessly pulled it out –

A text from Victoria? –

Max blinked a few times –

_BTW TOMRW IS A DATE LIKE IN A GAY WAY_

_AND DONT TELL ANYONE_

_OR I WILL MURDER YOU_

Max blinked a few more times, absorbing the words –

_that was a joke 2 btw_

Max just exhaled, amused, and put her phone away.

Christ.

She totally forgot about tomorrow with Victoria – a date – a gay date, fucking apparently –

Victoria wanted a –

“You’re blushing again, Max. Who was that?”

Max cleared her throat and tried very earnestly to calm her cheeks.

“Um. Victoria. She kinda … asked me out tomorrow and she’s been acting … weird to me lately.”

Steph laughed.

Max blinked.

“Yeah, you’re totally her type, sorry.”

Max just groaned and flopped back on Chloe’s bed.

She closed her eyes.

“Everyone wants to do something on the same afternoon.”

Quiet.

Chloe hesitated.

“Hey um, Max? Not for nothing but … I’ve been really crushing on you for a long time and Steph is going to definitely kill me if I don’t let you know.”

Max blinked her eyes open and sat back up.

“What?”

Chloe blushed and rubbed at the back of her head, looking away from Max.

“Yeah …”

Steph giggled.

“She’s got it so bad for you girl, you have no idea.”

Max inhaled deeply.

She certainly had some confusing feelings for Chloe, herself.

She just wouldn’t have imagined her wildest dreams that Chloe felt the same.

“Chloe I --- “

Chloe stood up, suddenly, and crossed her arms.

“--- Sh. It’s okay. I didn’t want to like, put you on the spot or something, dude. I know you need time to think about everything. I just … wanted you to know.”

Chloe looked sidelong to Steph.

“And again, Steph has been teasing me about this for like … three goddamn years, so … neener-neener. Can’t anymore.”

Steph just smiled pleasantly.

“I’m sure I’ll find a way …”

Chloe exhaled, amused, and just rolled her eyes.

She looked back to Max.

“Try and make up your mind before tomorrow afternoon, though?”

Max sighed wearily and looked down.

“Yeah … I’ll try …”

Max wasn’t sure of that answer in the slightest, though.

 

What a freaking mess.

 

###### Decisions

This is an interactive story. It's recommended you navigate the fic through these links instead of AO3's navigation system.

[> Freak out and do nothing](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12061389/chapters/27432342#chapters)

[> Date Victoria](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12061389/chapters/27841404#chapters)

~~> Go to the Concert~~ _(coming soon)_

[> Go to the Dork Club](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12061389/chapters/27857616#chapters)


	3. Chapter 3

### Freak out and do nothing

##### Day 2, Freak Out Route

The worst feeling was the knowing that Max was fucking up her life.

She knew it for every second she wasted under this tree.

She knew it for every second she watched some messages pour in from the people she’d made tentative commitments with.

She knew it for every second she progressively felt worse and worse about herself, until her self-loathing physically crushed her to laying down on the grass, like some kind of inescapable tar.

She knew it for every second.

 

But she didn’t know what to do.

 

She didn’t know who to pick, or why.

Maybe Victoria.

Max really didn’t want Victoria to be her enemy anymore.

But she could really honestly go on a date with her?

Victoria was such a better photographer.

She’d get annoyed or something just being in the same space as Max, trying to dumb herself down long enough to deal with Max’s insipid ideas for shots.

She knew snubbing Victoria would make her even more of a bitch, and Max wanted none of that.

Victoria being an asshole to her was probably one of the worst parts of Blackwell.

But if Victoria would know she was a stupid idiot if she went on the date and would resent her for standing her up if she didn’t, what could Max do?

It was lose-lose.

It felt selfish to want to go to the event with Steph and Warren. Chloe seemed chill with it at the moment, but the first time Max sees her in god knows how long, and she just decides to go fuck off with her other friend?

There’s no way that wouldn’t bug her in some way.

Maybe going with Chloe would be okay, but Max couldn’t shake the feeling deep down that they were too different now, and she would say or do something really stupid or embarrassing.

And Chloe would know it was a mistake to welcome Max back into her life so eagerly.

 

No matter what decision Max made, it seemed like the worst decision to make.

Like all of the paths out of here just led to someone being upset at her, somehow.

So maybe the only thing to do was to make everyone hate her equally.

At least then she didn’t play favorites and make someone feel neglected for someone else.

At least then she was just an asshole.

Just the same kind of asshole that could forget her friend’s names, or birthdays.

Just the same kind of asshole that could ignore Chloe for years.

Just the same kind of asshole.

Just the same.

 

Just.

 

Max sniffled.

 

She closed her eyes.

 

When she opened her eyes, someone was sitting down pleasantly on the grass next to her.

The sun had almost set.

Golden hour.

She’d wasted the entire afternoon doing nothing, and hadn’t made any decision yet.

She was officially an asshole, now.

Numbly, she forced herself through the tar of her bad decisions and sat up.

She leaned back miserably against the tree and looked to the person sitting next to her.

Rachel.

Max blinked.

Rachel had her headphones in and was sitting with her knees up by her chest, with her head buried into them and her arms wrapped around.

Looked like she was sleeping, too.

Was she waiting for Max to wake up?

Why was she even here?

How?

Max thought about getting up and going away.

She didn’t want anyone to see her when she was so pathetic and miserable like this, the least of which someone like Rachel.

It didn’t matter if Rachel was waiting for her.

Just another way Max was an asshole.

With a weary sigh, Max slowly got up from her position.

She took a step –

“Max. Wait.”

Too late.

Max carefully turned to face Rachel.

Rachel was looking up and had since removed the headphones from her ears.

Her face was gently smiling, somehow.

“I want to talk.”

Max bit her lip and looked around.

They were now alone, together, basked only in the warming yellows of the affectionate sun.

“I’m not … really in the mood to talk.”

Max said weakly.

She rubbed at her arm and looked away from Rachel.

Rachel sighed.

“Do it as a favor for me, then? Just sit? It’ll only be a minute? I promise I’m not here to chew you out for bailing on everyone.”

Max considered the request.

Maybe just a minute wouldn’t be so bad …

Max sighed and plopped down on the grass.

She crossed her legs but still couldn’t look at Rachel.

“Okay … I guess I have a minute.”

Rachel scooted a few inches closer.

Max blinked and looked to her.

Rachel was still smiling so gently.

“I hear you made Chloe really happy, yesterday.”

Max shrugged, and looked down to the grass.

“All I did was … show up. She made herself happy.”

Rachel scoffed, amused.

“Just showing up is 99% of the battle.”

Max blinked.

That was an awful deep and close cut.

She looked back up to Rachel, and thought to respond, somehow.

But didn’t really know what to say.

Rachel just kept on smiling.

The silence weighed down more heavily on Rachel than max, though, and after a little bit of fidgeting she sighed.

“Look. Chloe thought you were totally gone and wanted nothing out of her. Just showing up spoke louder than any words you could have offered her in apology over text or whatever. It showed her you still cared.”

Max continued to consider the words.

She mindlessly brought her own knees up to her chest and wrapped her own arms around.

She spoke mumbled by her knees.

 “I still didn’t do anything. You just guilted me into going over there and then … Steph was there, and she pulled me up into Chloe’s room and … Chloe made herself happy and …”

Rachel sighed again, and scooted closer still.

She got onto her knees and leaned forward a bit.

Max blinked –

Rachel’s hand was on her cheek –

Rachel’s hand gently guided Max’s face up into looking at Rachel, again –

Max blinked, again, and sniffled, and –

She tried to hide her face, because the tears were almost there, and she couldn’t –

Rachel brought her second hand up.

She closed her eyes and breathed in calmly.

Max blinked a few more times, but closed her eyes as well.

She just felt Rachel’s fingers diligently playing with her cheeks, stroking gently.

Rachel had such soft hands.

For maybe a minute or so, neither of them said anything.

Max was able to just bask in the shrinking warmth of the sun and Rachel’s gentle reassurances.

She breathed more easily.

 

But eventually, Rachel peeled her hands away.

She was still so close, though.

Max blinked open her eyes, and looked up to Rachel.

Rachel was looking down, still smiling.

“One of the dirty secrets of growing up is …”

Rachel spoke so gently, now, like she was whispering furtively about a crime,

“... no one really knows what they’re doing. No one has their shit together. People that seem like it are just better at hiding it, yeah?”

Max hummed thoughtfully.

It was hard to believe Rachel would say and genuinely believe something like that.

What shit could Rachel possibly have going on in her life?

She was perfect.

“It doesn’t matter if I guilted you into going there and Steph pulled you up into her room. All that matters is that you still did it.”

Max frowned, slightly.

Rachel did too herself, for a few seconds, but then sighed again and gently crossed her arms, still on her knees.

“Like even when I cajoled you into going into the bathroom --- I wouldn’t have even known you were on campus without some of my friends, and lord knows I wouldn’t have the foggiest clue you went all of the way out here without someone seeing you run away off in this direction.”

Max continued to consider Rachel’s words, and her expression softened.

How much of Rachel’s perfection was just her social circle helping her along?

“But it doesn’t matter how I knew what I did or why I felt motivated to help you. All that matters is that I showed up. I’m here right now, and you’re not crying anymore.”

Max bit her lip.

Rachel smiled gently again.

“And that’s all that matters with Chloe, too, and a lot of people, for that matter.”

Max groaned again and inelegantly shoved her face back into her own knees.

She spoke, but it was mumbled Rachel couldn’t hear it.

Rachel touched her cheek again, and Max was getting precisely no better at dealing with Rachel’s incredibly kind touch.

Max looked back up to Rachel without needing the hand to guide her, though it still gently played with her cheek.

“I guess … but I didn’t show up for anyone today. I’m just a useless asshole.”

Rachel rolled her eyes.

“You had a really difficult decision, Max. Don’t beat yourself up for freaking out about it. What you’ve done is nothing some honesty and a straight-forward apology won’t solve.”

Max blinked a few times.

Rachel smiled wider.

“Do you trust me, Max?”

There was just something about the way Rachel said this, so halting and gentle and affectionate –

Maybe it was just the way Rachel’s hand was making it really fucking hard for Max to think about much –

But she blushed.

She looked away and cleared her throat.

“Um. I guess …”

Rachel’s hand gently tapped at Max’s cheek until she was back into looking at her.

Rachel’s other hand extended and offered her palm, meaningfully.

“Then give me your phone.”

Max blinked.

“Wh … what?”

Rachel giggled.

“Give me your phone. I’ll fix it with Victoria since she’s impossible and then you’ll fix it with Chloe. You’ll get through this and no one will hate you tomorrow.”

Max bit her lip, and looked back down.

Quiet.

Rachel didn’t impatiently tap at her cheek, this time.

She gave Max the time she needed to consider.

Could she really unfuck this?

Could she not be an asshole and actually make better friends?

Numbly and still without looking up, she pulled her phone out of her pocket, unlocked it, and gave it to Rachel.

Rachel removed her hand on Max’s cheek and straightened her posture.

She hummed a soft, gentle melody while tapping away at Max’s phone.

Max eventually looked up to Rachel.

Rachel had this adorable smile on her face and even when she was concentrating on doing something she looked so unburdened by life.

She noticed Max was staring at some point –

Her eyes flicked to Max’s own –

Max blinked –

Rachel fucking winked and giggled –

Max blushed even more and looked away, huffing softly.

After another few moments, she offered the phone back to Max, and Max took it.

“There. Victoria’s not happy but she doesn’t hate you. But Victoria’s never happy and she never hates you, so … no big news there.”

Max looked down to her phone, and brought both of her hands up to scroll through the messages sent back and forth.

_Hey sorry I just had a small panic attack_

Max’s hair stood up at Rachel’s characterization –

_And I kinda just needed some time to cry. I won’t be able to do tonight. Sorry. How about tomorrow? Or Friday? I still want to hang. Just let me know when._

Max frowned after reading what Rachel sent.

There was no way that Victoria would –

_Okkkkk omg wtf feel better please I had NO CLUE sry sry sry_

_Friday is good_

_AND STILL DONT TELL ANYONE_

_OR MURDER_

_PAINFUL MURDER_

_but do feel better ok???_

Max blinked only about a million times, and couldn’t help but smile gently at Victoria’s odd tone shifting.

She put her phone down and looked up to Rachel.

“I … can’t believe you did that. I thought Victoria would kill me for standing her up.”

Rachel just shrugged, but kept her smile.

“Even Victoria can appreciate some brutal honesty every once in a while.”

Max sighed.

“Yeah, I guess.”

Rachel leaned forward again, and touched Max’s other cheek.

It was getting a bit easier to deal with, at least.

It didn’t quite short-circuit her mind anymore.

“Now do that with Chloe. Look at what I said to Vic and do it with her. Don’t be vague. Don’t lie. Just tell her honestly what happened. I’ll be right here in case you need me.”  

Max breathed in deep, considered Rachel’s words, and looked back down to her phone.

Could she do that?

Just like Rachel did?

Unfuck things?

Make people not hate her?

Chloe certainly seemed to be accommodating, earlier.

Max opened her conversation with Chloe, and cringed painfully.

“It doesn’t matter what you didn’t do. What matters is what you’re doing now.”

Rachel spoke it automatically and gently, as if reading Max’s mind about her thoughts on ignoring Chloe.

“Yeah …”

Max slumped a bit, but relaxed when Rachel’s hand kept on gently stroking at her cheek.

“Okay.”

She started to tap away at her phone.

It was slowly, at first, but whenever Max would get nervous, she’d just see Rachel smiling oh-so-gently.

She’d breathe in deeply, look back down, and go back to it.

_Chloe I’m sorry I couldn’t do the concert today. I got really depressed and couldn’t do anything. It’s not your fault, I promise._

Max bit her lip, hesitated, before adding,

_Can we do something else later? I don’t even care what. I just want to spend time with you._

With that, she sighed painfully and looked straight up to the sky, with her eyes welded shut.

Rachel thoughtlessly swiped her phone – and Max didn’t even have the presence of mind to be annoyed at this.

“Mmm. Good girl. Be honest like that and I promise people won’t be upset with you … and those who are you don’t need in your life anyway.”

Rachel put the phone back into Max’s hand.

“Chloe didn’t get upset, either.”

Max blinked a few times, and slowly ratcheted her head down to her phone.

_dude its cool i knew you werent the partying type anyway_

_also feel better and junk_

Max exhaled pleasantly and just closed her eyes.

Maybe things weren’t so bad as she thought.

Maybe everyone wasn’t going to hate her for being stupid sometimes.

Or an asshole.

“By the way.”

Max blinked and opened her eyes to look back at Rachel.

“You’re going to have to make the moves on Chloe. She’s really self-conscious about being rejected. So if you want another date, you’ll have to think of something.”

Max blinked a few more times, and slowly looked down to her phone.

Could she really do that?

Be the one making moves on people?

She still wanted Chloe to know how she felt …

But …

Max flicked her eyes back up to Rachel.

Rachel was so impossibly warm and accommodating.

Max hadn’t really had anyone soothe all of her anxieties so effectively before.

It didn’t even seem like she was bothering Rachel by being so needy, either.

What was with her, anyway?

Rachel was so mysterious.

Maybe Max could learn more about her.

If she tried.

 

###### Decisions

This is an interactive story. It's recommended you navigate the fic through these links instead of AO3's navigation system.

[< Choose last decision again](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12061389/chapters/27389859#feedback)

[> Ask Chloe out](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12061389/chapters/27527931#chapters)

[> Ask Rachel out](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12061389/chapters/28362561#chapters)


	4. Chapter 4

### Ask Chloe Out

##### Day 2, Freak Out Route

Max flicked her eyes back down to her phone.

Dating Rachel was a silly, impulsive thought.

Rachel didn’t see Max as anything like that.

She was just being helpful.

And nice.

 

“Alright. Um. Thanks.”

Rachel continued to smile pleasantly.

Max hesitated on saying anything more to Chloe.

“Do you have any … advice?”

Rachel laughed, breezily, and crossed her arms.

“I don’t know. I don’t believe in traditional dating, Max, so I wouldn’t know. Just ask her to go somewhere you’d want to.”

Max thought about it a bit more.

Where exactly did she want to go?

 

###### Decisions

This is an interactive story. It's recommended you navigate the fic through these links instead of AO3's navigation system.

[< Choose last decision again](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12061389/chapters/27432342#feedback)

[> Ask Rachel where she would go](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12061389/chapters/27527907#chapters)

~~> Dork Club~~ _(coming soon)_

 ~~> Just chill somewhere~~ _(coming soon)_


	5. Chapter 5

### Ask Rachel where she would go

##### Day 2, Freak Out Route

Max slowly looked back up to Rachel.

“Where would you go?”

Rachel tilted her head to the side, and shrugged.

“Tomorrow? Probably wouldn’t even go out. On the weekend, though …”

Rachel smile became wry and dangerous, and she uncrossed her arms.

“I’d go out to a club.”

Max blinked.

“Aren’t you underage?”

Rachel laughed earnestly and slowly shook her head.

“Yes, silly, but I’ve got a fake ID.”

Max blinked again.

“Oh.”

Rachel breathed in deeply to calm herself down after the laugh, and resumed smiling.

“I can get you an ID, too.”

Max thought about it for a little bit.

A nightclub didn’t really sound like her kind of place.

But maybe it was Chloe’s?

She seemed so different, now.

Maybe Max could be different, too.

Especially if …

“Could you come with me?”

Rachel blinked.

Her smile faltered, ever so slightly.

Max thought about getting nervous or backing down, playing it off as a joke, maybe, but Rachel’s words from earlier smacked her in the face.

_Just be honest._

“I-I don’t want to mess things up with Chloe, and you … make me feel better. Less nervous, at least. If you just like – came by – or something – I don’t know – to make sure I didn’t do – I don’t know – something stupid – or – whatever – that would be ---”

Rachel exhaled, amused, and reached one of her hands forward to stroke at Max’s cheek again.

“Sure. I can be around to make sure everything goes right, silly.”

Max closed her eyes, breathed in deep.

And smiled.

When she opened her eyes again, Rachel stood up and dusted the grass off of her jeans.

“Victoria said Friday, so don’t be a silly-dilly and set yourself up to fail again. Tell Chloe you want to go to The Decco House on Saturday night.”

Max nodded, and exhaled loudly.

“Okay. I think I can do that.”

Rachel giggled.

“I sure hope so. Would make me feel awful if I spent all of this effort and you can’t even ask Chloe out. Ciao!”

Max kept her smile.

So did Rachel.

Rachel waved a pleasant goodbye and started to walk away.

After she was out of earshot, Max sighed again and collapsed back onto the grass.

But she felt a bit less burdened by everything.

Maybe she wasn’t as much of an idiot asshole as she though.

Mindlessly, she brought her phone up to her face.

_Decco house on Saturday night?_

A response came back almost immediately.

_hell ya_

Then, a few seconds later,

_wait, this is max?? damn girl what got into u_

_did steph steal ur phone somehow bc I s2g if she’s pranking me_

Max smiled a bit wider.

_Yeah, this is Max. Told you I wanted to hang still._

Max put her phone down on her belly and closed her eyes.

She’d eventually have to get up and walk back to campus, but.

For now she could relax pleasantly.

 

\---

 

##### Day 3, Freak Out Route

Victoria scrolled through the feed of updates on her computer with an annoyed frown.

Boring, boring, predictable, ohhh cute cat, boring, boring ---

She was pulled out of her time wasting by a knocking on her door.

She groaned and sat up straight.

“It’s open.”

Victoria looked behind her just enough to see it was Taylor who entered the room.

Victoria went back to scrolling through her feed while Taylor pleasantly closed the door behind her and crashed on Victoria’s bed.

“I just heard something interesting.”

Victoria rolled her eyes, but didn’t look away from her computer.

“Really. I’m just _dying_ to know.”

It was Taylor’s turn to roll her eyes.

“Well, if you want to be like that, I suppose I can just keep more Max and Rachel news to myself.”

Victoria blinked a few times and snapped her gaze to Taylor.

Taylor, of course, had a massive shit-eating grin.

“Shut up. Rachel’s still messing with Max?”

Taylor’s grin faltered slightly, and she just shrugged.

“Doin’ something. Max ran off after class yesterday, crying, and Rachel chased after her a bit later.”

Victoria frowned.

She suddenly remembered - 

The text from Max –

Her frown deepened even more.

Victoria huffed indignantly and went back to her computer.

“Rachel’s helping her.”

Taylor blinked.

“Helping her how?”

Victoria just shrugged.

“I got a text from Max a little while ago that was way too honest for her. Rachel’s feeding her lines or something.”

Taylor hummed in consideration.

“Sounds like something Rachel would do. Though, is it _really_ feeding her lines if Max meant to say it anyway?”

Victoria grunted.

Quiet.

“I’m going to cancel my date with her.”

Taylor frowned and crossed her arms.

“ _Victoria._ ”

Victoria looked back to Taylor.

“Don’t you ‘ _Victoria’_ me. I like Max as she is, not whatever weird girl Max will become after Rachel is done with her.”

Victoria and Taylor stared at each other for a few quiet seconds.

Taylor closed her eyes and groaned.

“How many times are you going to make Rachel screw up your friendships like this?”

Victoria raised her hackles,

“How many times ---”

But she spoke _before_ she thought, this time, and as her brain caught up to the words, she groaned miserably and looked down to the floor.

She went quiet and raised a hand up to rub at her temples.

“I’ll eventually find someone who sees Rachel for what she is. I’m not going to compromise myself on this.”

Taylor just frowned.

“Well. When you’re done self-destructing yet another chance of a good relationship because of your ridiculous hate-boner for Rachel, let me know. But I’m having no part of this until then.”

She stood up and started to walk towards Victoria’s door.

Victoria watched her go with a silent frown, still rubbing at her temples.

Taylor paused at the threshold.

“Rachel never changed me, by the way. But she sure did change you.”

 Victoria flinched and closed her eyes pathetically.

“Taylor …”

But it was too late.

Taylor was out of her room before Victoria could vocalize it.

Victoria slumped down in her chair.

She eventually just collapsed against her desk, with her face hiding in her arms.

Fuck.

 

\---

 

##### Day 4, Freak Out Route

Max received a text at some point that Victoria was cancelling the date.

This seemed illogical to Max, but then again, everything Victoria did seemed as such as well.

So Max didn’t think much of it.

 

##### Day 5, Freak Out Route

On Saturday, Max checked her phone.

At some point, Rachel’s number appeared in her phone, and Max had a pretty good idea when it got in there.

_Can you drive me there?_

Texting Rachel was an interesting experience.

Sometimes a response would come back almost immediately.

Sometimes it could take a day.

Max wasn’t really sure what took her so long, sometimes.

_Yeah sure xoxoxo_

This response came back quickly, though.

She smiled.

 

Max stared at herself in her mirror, and frowned slightly.

She didn’t know what to wear to a nightclub.

She didn’t even really dress up for most things.

She had a dress or two.

Do you wear dresses to nightclubs?

Something told her you didn’t.

She sighed and slumped a little bit.

This was so totally out of her comfort zone.

But Chloe seemed to like it.

And Rachel would be there.

Max needed to live a little bit more, anyway.

What better way then –

Someone knocked on her door, and Max pleasantly hummed and walked over to open it.

She blinked when she saw who was on the other side, though.

Rachel, but.

She was wearing even more makeup than usual, and her already immaculate face seemed even more perfect, somehow.

Her clothes were far more revealing than anything Max had seen in her in –

Was that a skirt –

Rachel just smiled.

“We’re leaving soon and you haven’t even changed?”

Max forced her gayze back up to Rachel and cleared her throat.

_Focus._

“I um, don’t really know what to wear to a nightclub.”

Rachel raised an eyebrow, and then just shrugged.

Without asking or being invited in, she casually snaked her way past Max into her room, and just as thoughtlessly found her dresser.

Max watched her go and followed around behind her.

Rachel crossed her arms and hummed thoughtfully.

“You have three jackets of the same exact color, a bunch of tees, and a bunch of jeans … no, this won’t do.”

Max shrugged.

“There’s a dress or two at the end, too.”

Rachel spared Max a look, and for just a few seconds she had a kind of smug, amused grin on her face, before she shook her head and exhaled, amused.

Max’s non-defense of her wardrobe wasn’t too convincing.

“C’mon. You’re basically my size. I know where we can find you some good clothes. Time to take a detour.”

Max blinked –

Rachel took her hand again –

Max was once again helpless to resist as Rachel tugged her out of her room.

At least Max was slowly getting used to how impulsive Rachel acted.

It reminded her a lot of Chloe used to, when they were kids.

 

Rachel dragged Max all of the way to her car, in the campus parking lot.

It was companionable silence the entire way.

Max just wondered what she had in store.

When they were both in the car and Rachel was mindlessly reversing it and taking off, Max hummed thoughtfully.

“Victoria said you were good friends with Chloe.”

Rachel spared her a look for a few seconds before smiling and looking back at the road.

“Victoria says a lot of things, but only sometimes they’re true.”

Max blinked.

Was that a denial, or not?

“You’re not good friends with Chloe?”

Rachel giggled.

“I’m not _not_ good _good_ friends with Chloe.”

Max blinked again, and tried to figure out what the hell Rachel meant.

Not … not … good … good.

Not … _not_ … good … _good?_

“Don’t hurt yourself thinking about that one too much.”

Max groaned.

It must have been obvious it was causing her to think a lot.

Max looked away from Rachel to the road outside her passenger side window.

“Well … You know things about Chloe. You have to have been at least … _somewhat_ friends.”

Rachel just hummed thoughtfully.

“I didn’t tell you anything anyone with a good pair of eyes on ‘em couldn’t, Maxxie. In all her time at Blackwell, Chloe never hit on anyone.”

Max hummed thoughtfully herself, and looked back to Rachel.

“Maybe she wasn’t interested in anyone?”

Rachel giggled at this.

“Maybe. I think she was, though.”

She looked over to Max for the briefest of moments,

“ _Can’t imagine_ who she would be interested in, though.”

She fucking winked again and Max just blinked and blinked.

Rachel giggled again and looked back to the road.

Max frowned, but more out of concentration than any kind of frustration.

Rachel was confusing to talk to when she wasn’t trying to be helpful.

“Did she have any girlfriends?”

Rachel hesitated, and broke one of her hands away from the wheel to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ears.

“Yeah, kinda, I guess.”

Max blinked.

“Um, kinda? How do you have a kinda girlfriend?”

Rachel shrugged again, flicking her eyes to Max only briefly.

The smile from her face was gone, though.

“When one person thinks you’re girlfriends and the other doesn’t.”

Max hummed thoughtfully.

“Oh.”

Max looked forward, and felt a little bit awkward.

“Yeah. ‘Oh’. She had one boy in her life too, but just used him for the sex.”

Max considered this, and frowned.

“That doesn’t sound like Chloe.”

Rachel laughed earnestly, and just shook her head softly.

“You last knew her years ago as a kid, Max. Playing pirates and stuff. She’s changed.”

Max nodded gently, and sighed wearily.

Why did _everyone_ feel so obligated to keep reminding her of that?

“I know, I know … just …”

Max suddenly blinked, and realized Rachel had tipped her hand a little.

She looked to Rachel and smiled gently.

“So you _did_ know Chloe, if she told you about me and what we used to do.”

Rachel opened her mouth a little bit and gaped it stupidly, then just closed it and smiled.

“Okay, you got me, Max. Yeah, I did.”

Rachel’s eyes flicked to Max briefly.

“I didn’t want to tell you if you’re about to go on a date with her, but … yeah. She used to think I was her girlfriend.”

Max blinked only a billion times at the news.

“Oh.”

No wonder Rachel was being so evasive about it.

Max rubbed at her arm and looked out her window, again.

“Was it … did you um …”

Max didn’t know how to quite phrase it.

Rachel just sighed.

“I don’t think you need the details, Max. I really don’t want you thinking about it tonight. We didn’t break up amicably and I’m not super excited to see her in a nightclub setting but …”

Rachel broke a hand away from the steering wheel to find one of Max’s and gently squeeze it,

“I’m more than happy to help a friend through a tough part of their life.”

Max smiled at this, at least, and sighed contently.

She melted more into the car seat and decided she’d done enough prying.

Rachel’s hand squeezing was nice, though.

Comforting.

Max spent most of the ride just relaxing.

Eventually, though, Rachel moved her hand back to the wheel, and spoke up.

“What about you?”

Max blinked, and painfully ratcheted her gaze back to Rachel.

“Me?”

Rachel giggled and rolled her eyes.

“Girlfriends. Or … boyfriends? I don’t judge. Had any?”

Max just shrugged and looked to the road, again.

“Not really. No one showed any interest in me until all of two days ago.”

Rachel laughed, now, and just shook her head.

“I find that hard to believe.”

Max blinked.

“Um … why?”

Rachel rolled her eyes again.

“Oh honey.”

Rachel didn’t feel the need to elaborate past this, though.

 

They made it to Rachel’s house, which was larger than Max was expecting for some reason, and Rachel thoughtlessly tugged Max into her room, which was both cleaner and not than Max was expecting.

There were posters of half-naked women all over it, most of which were askew, but the actual room itself was spotless, and her bed was made perfectly.

Rachel’s closet was huge, and it swallowed her whole while she picked out clothes for Max.

They were basically the same size, the same height, and very nearly the same weight.

Conveniently.

The clothes Rachel picked out almost made Max blush.

Almost as revealing as Rachel.

Short shorts, a tank top, but also a long-sleeve flannel shirt.

“Gotta dress a little flirty for going out.”

Rachel said it with a wink.

 

Rachel decided they didn’t have the time to give Max anymore makeup, and just dragged her once again to her car after she finished dressing.

At least Rachel’s closet was huge enough that Max could change in there with some privacy.

The ride to the club was similarly quiet.

Max didn’t really know what she wanted to ask Rachel.

Eventually, though, she had a brain wave on something she wanted Rachel’s opinion on.

“Victoria canceled on me yesterday.”

Rachel hummed thoughtfully.

“Hm. Wonder if she heard about me visiting you.”

Max blinked.

“Why would that matter?”

Rachel laughed.

“Victoria kinda hates me. She probably won’t even talk to you anymore whence word gets out about tonight.”

Max frowned.

“I’m not sure if that’s an improvement from being mean to me.”

Rachel sighed wearily and rubbed at one of Max’s shoulders.

Max didn’t know when exactly Rachel’s affection became more relaxing than exciting.

“She might come around. I wouldn’t pay it any mind – you deserve someone who won’t freak on you just because of a friend you have, anyway.”

Max sighed wearily herself.

There wasn’t much road to stare at now that it was night time, but she did so anyway.

“Yeah, I guess …”

She didn’t feel very confident about it, though.

Knowing that Victoria wanted to date her put a tragic, ironic spin on all of her rude interactions.

Did she just not know how to express herself?

Max sure related to that.

 

Rachel spent the rest of the ride grilling Max on the fake birthday on her fake ID.

 

Whence at the club, all of that practice was immediately useful, since the person checking her ID and taking her cover charge didn’t believe her for one second.

Rachel getting annoyed was more than enough to convince the ID checker that this wasn’t a battle worth fighting, though.

 

Max went deeper inside of the club with Rachel, and progressively felt more and more lost.

But just when she thought she might get totally overwhelmed –

Rachel’s hand found Max’s, and once again –

Rachel led Max.

There were all manner of curious people in the club, and the music was so loud, and there were dancers barely even clothed, and it was hotter inside than she thought it would be, and –

They stopped at some bar.

Rachel spoke eagerly to the bartender and released Max’s hand.

Max just watched the exchange dumbly and mutely.

Eventually, the bartender came back and shoved a drink both to Rachel and Max.

Max blinked, and looked to Rachel.

She had to speak up quite loud just to be heard over the ridiculous music.

“I don’t drink!”

Rachel giggled.

“Neither do I! This is a nightclub. Things are different! Trust me! You’ll feel better!”

Rachel was just smiling so wide and after she a sip of her drink she winked at Max again.

Max bit her lip, and considered her options.

But it was sort of a non-option.

Max had trusted Rachel at every point and so far it hadn’t gone wrong.

Max looked to the drink, picked it up, and took a sip of it.

She was expecting something that tasted awful, but it didn’t.

Not really.

It was way fruiter than she was expecting, like she was drinking a smoothie or something.

Rachel giggled again and wrapped an arm around Max’s shoulder to her opposite side, and started tugging her along once again.

Max barely even minded Rachel leading her along, anymore.

 

After a few sips of her drink and a little bit of walking, they ended up at a large dance floor.

Max counted at least four things which she considered to be disco balls mounted to the ceiling.

There were certainly a lot of pretty lights on here.

She took another sip, and she had to admit that Rachel had something of a point.

She didn’t know how strong this drink was, but it was taking the edge off of her anxieties about being in an unknown place.

Or maybe that was just Rachel’s hand on her shoulder and her warmth so close.

Maybe this is just what it felt like to be safe.

“Hm! Chloe must not be here yet! She’s definitely a dancing type!”

Max blinked, and looked to Rachel.

She took another sip of her drink.

“Are you a dancing type?!”

Rachel laughed, and looked down to her own drink.

“Yeah! We totally should! But. Finish your drink first! We don’t have anyone to watch them.”

Max didn’t quite know what she meant, but her drink was half gone, anyway.

And the more she drank of it, the more relaxed she got.

 

A few minutes later, they tossed their drinks away, and Rachel tugged Max onto the dance floor.

Max thought about being horrified, or object, or really anything other than being silently led, but.

Rachel was smiling so wide and she was so happy.

Max didn’t really want to ruin that.

They danced.

Max couldn’t.

Rachel could.

It didn’t matter.

Rachel just giggled when she saw Max dance and she hooped and hollered, clapping above her hands above her head enthusiastically.

Encouraging Max, even though Max knew she was dancing awfully.

Everyone around them stopped mattering.

 

Max honestly sure how much later it was when Rachel looked away and suddenly pulled away from Max.

Just before she went away she raised a single finger up pointedly in a ‘wait a minute’ gesture.

Max just blinked, but stood there for a few seconds.

Her heart rate was way up by now, and it was nice to just have that little period to catch her breath.

She didn’t even feel that awkward, despite still being surrounded by strangers.

Whatever breath she caught in these few seconds were robbed from her when she saw Rachel dragging Chloe onto the dance floor.

The music died down, slightly.

It was a quieter part while it transitioned to another.

 

Max smiled.

Chloe smiled.

Chloe looked just like she always did, apparently not believing Rachel’s theory that you needed to look different going out.

She stopped a little shy of Max.

For a few seconds, they just did nothing but stared at each other.

Smiling.

 

But Rachel closed the distance between the two and shoved at Chloe’s back playfully with a huge, shit-eating grin.

“C’mon!”  

Chloe stumbled forward and momentarily looked back to Rachel with a small frown, but then just exhaled, amused, and looked forward to Max.

She was so close now, staring down.

“Hey.”

Max giggled.

“Hey.”

She could hear Rachel groaning in the distance.

Max was suddenly reminded of her words.

_You’ll have to make the moves, Max._

Max tried to think –

She inched forward until what little distance between them was gone.

Chloe’s breathing hitched.

Max took her hands into her own and squeezed tightly.

She looked up to Chloe, and tried to channel her best inner-Rachel.

“Wanna dance?”

Chloe laughed, and smiled, and she looked down to the floor with a big grin plastered on her face, and she exhaled in an amused manner, and she –

She slowly looked back up to Max.

“See if you can keep up, hippy.”

The music started to pick up rapidly.

All of the instruments were pitching up and up and up and the drums were getting faster and –

The bass dropped.

Chloe pulled away with helpless giggles and started to enjoy the music.

Max did, too.

She stared at Chloe the entire night.

Chloe stared at her the entire night.

She never wanted this to end.

 

But all good things do, eventually.

Max was not used to dancing at all and felt like she got exhausted far too easily.

She communicated this with some level of coherency to Chloe, and Chloe nodded, wrapped an arm around Max, and led her outside.

It felt weird to suddenly not have intoxicating music flowing through her system.

Her entire body was heated and overworked and it felt like there was no sensation in her cheeks but she –

Max couldn’t remember the last time she felt so at ease with the world.

Especially when she could melt into Chloe’s side while being safely led away.

 

Outside of the club, Rachel was waiting.

She giggled just seeing the two of them.

“Cute.”

Max smiled.

Chloe spared her a look that Max couldn’t really see from her position.

“I don’t know how much of this you set up but … I don’t care.”

Chloe, and Max by extension, walked right past Rachel without even stopping.

There was a certain coldness to Chloe’s voice that Max hadn’t heard before.

Rachel sighed wearily and followed behind the two.

The three of them eventually came to a stop by the street side outside.

Rachel pulled up alongside the two, with Max acting as a physical buffer between Rachel and Chloe.

Rachel crossed her arms.

“Not everything is a game, Chloe.”

Chloe sighed.

“It is around you.”

Max was suddenly reminded of the fact these two had a history, and that it didn’t end well.

She shifted around uncomfortably.

Chloe looked to Max and sighed again.

“But like I said. I don’t care.”

Rachel hummed pleasantly.

“Oh. Well. It’s a good thing you feel obligated to remind me so often how much you indeed don’t care.”

Chloe looked up from Max to Rachel.

“It’s just important that you know that –”

Max groaned, and pushed herself away from Chloe.

The three of them went silent.

Max crossed her own arms.

“Can you two just … not?”

Rachel was frowning earnestly for perhaps the first time Max remembered.

At least with a drink or two in her, anyway.

Chloe shoved her hands in her pockets and looked away, but she was frowning, too.

Quiet.

It was pretty tense.

Max looked to Chloe, first.

“Chloe. Rachel’s my friend. I … don’t even know how much of this would have happened without her. But I …”

Rachel’s words, again,

_Be honest, Max. Anyone who doesn’t appreciate your honesty isn’t worth your time_

“I really like you, you know that? Like …”

Max breathed in deeply, and exhaled it just as slowly.

“Like a lot. A _lot_ lot.”

Chloe grumbled, but slowly looked back to Max, and removed her hands from her pockets.

“You mean that?”

Max exhaled pleasantly.

“Yes, Chloe. I mean it. I’ve always liked you. Even back when …”

Chloe exhaled shakily and closed her eyes.

Max looked to Rachel.

“And, Rachel …”

Rachel looked to Max, and her expression softened slightly.

“I really need my friends to … get along. I don’t know what happened but can we just … chill?”

Rachel looked to Chloe.

“If she can ---”

But Rachel seemed to think better of what ever she was about to say, and bit her lip to silence it off.

Chloe looked to Rachel.

Rachel sighed and moved a strand of hair behind her ear, again.

“Okay. I can do that. Chloe?”

Chloe looked Max.

Max smiled.

“Please?”

Chloe exhaled and groaned and shook her head, but.

She eventually looked back to Rachel.

“Okay, fine, whatever. I guess.”

The three of them shared a smile for a few seconds.

But then Chloe cleared her throat and patted herself down.

“Enough mushy stuff. I need to smoke.”

Chloe pulled out a pack of cigarettes and looked between Max and Rachel for a few seconds, before walking down the sidewalk a bit.

Rachel watched her go with a pleasant exhale.

When she was out of earshot, Rachel turned to Max and stepped right in front of her.

Max just looked to her with her smile still.

“Thanks, Max. Chloe’s been … difficult, since the breakup. She has her reasons but … it’d be nice to not have her hate me.”

Max nodded mutely.

Rachel looked back to where Chloe was.

Max followed her gaze.

Chloe was almost out of sight, now, smoking behind some cars on the far end of the lot.

Rachel snapped back to looking at Max.

“Hey … Max.”

Max looked back to Rachel.

“Trust me.”

Max blinked –

Rachel closed her eyes –

Rachel leaned forward –

She puckered her lips –

Max suddenly realized –

Rachel was going in for a kiss.

 

Max had already put a lot of trust into Rachel, but –

Could she go this far?

With Chloe _right_ there?

Could she risk upsetting Rachel by rejecting her?

Why did Rachel even want –

_Ugh._

Max’s mind was racing but she didn’t have the time to think this through.

She had to make a decision on impulse and roll with it.

 

###### Decisions

This is an interactive story. It's recommended you navigate the fic through these links instead of AO3's navigation system.

[< Choose last decision again](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12061389/chapters/27527931#feedback)

[> Trust Rachel](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12061389/chapters/27559641#chapters)

~~> Back away~~ _(coming soon)_


	6. Chapter 6

### Trust Rachel

##### Day 5, Freak Out Route

Most of this night had been honesty and impulse.

What was a little more?

Max closed her eyes and leaned into the kiss with Rachel.

She hadn’t led her astray so far.

 

Rachel’s lips connected with hers in a way not unlike a microcosm of their relationship in general – Rachel’s kisses were quick, impulsive, and had a little exciting flair of lip bite and hip-holding as she pulled away.

Max didn’t even have the time to get lost in the kiss or even to really fully appreciate it was happening, it was so quick.

What was different was the way Rachel’s face changed after she pulled away from the kiss.

Max blinked her eyes open and saw a Rachel with her eyes looking down to the floor, and her face somehow without its habitual grin.

She was still smiling, but it was slight instead of consuming and massive.

There was the faintest indication of blush on her cheeks.

Her eyes were half-lidded.

She rubbed her hands up and down Max’s sides for just a second or two.

“It’s rare to find people who you can trust the world to.”

Rachel spoke so gently and haltingly.

Max was pretty sure she’d never heard her talk like this.

Rachel then looked up from the floor and removed her hands from Max’s sides.

She wiped her lips clean by rubbing it against her arm, but remained quite close to Max.

Perhaps for pragmatic reasons, given Chloe was still close.

“Rachel … what the _shit_?”

Max finally found the presence of mind to vocalize her trouble.

She kept her voice quiet too, though.

The last thing she wanted right now was Chloe’s attention on the two of them.

Rachel’s slight smile faltered for a few seconds, and she sighed.

She looked back down to the floor.

“I know where your heart is, Max. Don’t worry. That wasn’t romantic. I just wanted to see how much you trusted me.”

Max blinked.

That sure didn’t _feel_ like a non-romantic kiss.

_Be honest._

“Are you … sure? That didn’t seem like …”

Rachel sighed.

Her smile disappeared entirely, and she closed her eyes.

She leaned forward again, but this time, to Max’s ear, and spoke in a barely-above-a-whisper.

Max blinked, but didn’t resist Rachel leaning in for the second time.

“Maybe … maybe not. Doesn’t matter. Point is, Chloe’s going to be back in a little bit and I know you want to kiss her. Just … don’t right now. She’ll taste of smoke and you don’t want that to ruin your first kiss with her.”

It was Max’s turn to frown slightly.

“I think I can ---”

Rachel interrupted, though,

“--- She might invite you back to her house soon. Doubt she will with David home, though. Invite her back to your dorm. Kiss her then. If you want to smash, I know she won’t resist you … lead into it from that. She might even grow a spine when you kiss her.”

Max blinked and blinked and blushed –

Rachel proved to be overwhelming, still –

“Be a good girl and make her happy, you hear me? She deserves someone in her life.”

Rachel slowly pulled her face away from Max’s ear, but remained close to the front of her face, still.

Only now, she had her usual grin.

One of her hands meaningfully moved to behind Max and gently smacked at her rear.

Max squeaked.

“And remember - lesbians still need to practice safe sex. Text me if you need anything, call three times if it’s an emergency, and you’ll always have my ear. _Ciao_.”

Max _thought_ she was getting used to Rachel, but seemed like Rachel knew how to keep upping her game every time to keep Max on her toes.

Or tripping over them, more like.

Max just gaped her mouth and thought of a million things to say in response to all of this but –

Rachel just pulled away fully, pleasantly waved, and walked back into the club.

Max didn’t move an inch or say a word.

 

Christ.

 

Max stood there dumbly, shoving her hands in her pockets and just tried to process all of what had just happened.

What was Rachel’s game?

Kissing people on impulse?

Did she kiss all of her friends?

And tell them that it didn’t really mean anything?

Is that why Chloe was upset with her?

Why was Rachel so incessant on guiding Max towards Chloe, even if it exposed her to the rough parts of their breakup?

None of this added up in Max’s mind, and it put a gentle frown on her face.

 

Maybe, somehow, someway, this is what friends were for.

 

A minute or two later Chloe returned with her hands also in her pockets.

She looked around, and frowned for a bit.

But she just smiled when her gaze returned to Max.

Max smiled herself, and walked up to Chloe.

It was so quiet out here –

Chloe had such a warm smile on her face –

They could –

_Don’t kiss her now. She’ll just taste like smoke._

Rachel’s words came to hit her in the face again, and she considered them while looking at Chloe.

“Hey.”

Chloe exhaled, amused.

“Hey.”

Quiet.

It was a wee bit awkward, but mostly because the eye contact was so exacting and intense.

Max blinked.

“We’re um. Not going to get stuck in this loop again, are we?”

Chloe laughed earnestly and closed the distance between them.

She wrapped an arm around Max to rub at her opposite shoulder and just exhaled pleasantly.

“Nah. Just not used to you thinking about me like … t-that.”

Max didn’t miss the subtle stammer and hesitation in Chloe’s voice near the end.

It made her smile.

It was so endearing to think of someone who acted as tough and badass as Chloe actually being a total insecure softie when it came to relationships.

Max didn’t even have to think about what she wanted to say.

It’s what she’s wanted for a while, anyway.

“Well. Get used to it? I want you to be able to hug me or whatever whenever you want to.”

Max pleasantly rested her head somewhere on Chloe’s shoulder or chest – she didn’t really care, and exhaled pleasantly her self.

Chloe chuckled again.

“I’ll try and keep that in mind, Caulfield.”

Chloe rubbed meaningfully and firmly at Max’s upper arm, just below her shoulder, before moving the hand back up to her shoulder.

Quiet.

It wasn’t awkward this time.

More relaxing than anything else.

It felt weird how easily their feelings for one another came out, like that.

 

Steph certainly seemed to be encouraging it out of Chloe.

Rachel was definitely encouraging it out of Max.

Maybe they both could just use an ass-kicking sometimes to get what they really wanted.

 

Maybe, somehow, someway, that’s what friends were for.

 

Eventually, Chloe cleared her throat.

“Hey hippie, you got any dancin’ left in ya’?”

Max hummed thoughtfully and shrugged.

“Mmmmm-no, I think … I think I’m all danced out for tonight.”

Max looked up to Chloe.

Chloe looked down to Max.

They shared a smile.

“You want to go find Rachel so we can get you ho ---”

_You’ll have to make the moves._

Subconsciously or not, Max channeled her inner-Rachel again.

“Mmmmmm-no …”

Chloe blinked.

Max smiled a bit wider, and moved from being on Chloe’s side to her front.

She carefully put her hands on Chloe’s sides and rubbed meaningfully.

Chloe’s breathing hitched and her body froze for all of a few seconds but she –

She caught on quickly enough and imitated the gesture with her own hands.

“I think you can drive me back, though … Maybe even um … help me sleep?”

Max blushed.

Chloe’s mouth gaped and she blinked a few times and her body froze for all of a few seconds but she –

Chloe breathed in deeply, closed her eyes, nodded, and caught on quickly enough.

She blushed, too.

Her hands moved to the small of Max’s back and she squeezed tightly, again.

Max squeaked.

Chloe’s grip tightened further, and she fucking lifted up Max again, and Max squeaked again, and then –

Chloe put her down, giggled, broke away from the embrace, grabbed at one of Max’s hands, and started to tug her into the parking lot.

“Think I can do that. I don’t know how much … _help_ ... you’ll need, though.”

Max giggled herself and her blush deepened.

Being led away was like being led by Rachel, but still different, somehow.

Chloe kept on looking back to Max every few seconds, and she’d always look back forward whenever Max’s eyes caught her.

Chloe’s tugging was less forceful, and more importantly, Max could have predicted it coming a mile away.

It was just like whenever they were kids, and Chloe had some crazy idea for a game she wanted to try.

Only this time, Max came up with the idea.

And it wasn’t a game.

 

The time to Chloe’s car – actually more of a piece of junk truck – was filled with companionable silence.

Max got into the passenger side quietly.

Chloe backed up, and started driving away.

Max stared at Chloe.

Chloe kept sparing her glances, though paid responsible attention to the road.

“So … how much of this is Rachel, _really_?”

It came after a few moments of silent driving, and Chloe sounded different when she spoke it.

A little halting, and unsure.

Quiet.

Max frowned, slightly.

“I … don’t know, Chloe.”

That was the wrong answer though, and Chloe huffed.

She put one of her arms on the driver’s side door and leaned her head against it, focusing entirely on the road.

Max sighed herself and shook her head.

“But it’s like … you and Steph, I guess?”

Chloe’s mouth twitched and she made a grunting noise.

“What?”

She still didn’t look at Max, though.

Max hesitated, but decided to vocalize her thoughts from earlier.

“Steph kinda … kicked your ass into telling me how you felt about me. Rachel did that for me, too.”

Chloe breathed in deeply, and let it out just as slowly.

“So you inviting me to my favorite club and Rachel being there was just coincidence?”

Chloe finally spared another look in Max’s direction, however brief,

“I only ever went there with her.”

Max shook her head, and looked away from Chloe to the road, though there wasn’t anything to see, there.

“No, not coincidence …”

_Be honest. Anyone who gets mad at you for being honest isn’t worth your time._

“I just …”

Max groaned, and shook her head again.

“I was just really nervous, okay? So I asked Rachel for help. I wanted to make sure tonight would go over well.”

Max looked back to Chloe.

“I knew I was already on thin ice from … everything that happened, over the years of me ignoring you and … canceling on you and I just …”

Max sighed wearily and slumped in her seat a bit.

She looked back to the road.

“This couldn’t go wrong. Rachel suggested the place and helped me dress and ---”

Chloe suddenly shifted her posture around.

She sat up straight, moved the arm that was resting on the door back to the steering wheel, and reached her other hand across to Max.

Chloe spared her another quick look before locating a hand and grasping at it with her free hand.

She squeezed tightly, and Max looked back up to Chloe.

Max squeezed right back, and smiled gently.

“I see. Maybe it’s better this way …”

Chloe said, distantly.

Max blinked.

“Better?”

Chloe nodded.

“With like friends ‘n shit egging us on. I can’t even imagine how long it’d take me to admit I like you without Steph in my life, Max.”

She looked back to Max, and held the look for the longest yet.

Max blinked, and smiled.

Chloe smiled too.

She squeezed.

Max squeezed right back.

“Yeah … I don’t –”

Chloe suddenly snapped her gaze back to the road and jerked the wheel slightly, interrupting Max.

“Whoops.”

Max frowned, but giggled.

“Pay attention to where you’re going, Price.”

Chloe just rolled her eyes, but got a toothy grin.

“You want me to stop this truck, Caulfield? Because that’s how you get me to stop this truck.”

Max hummed thoughtfully, and broke her hand away from squeezing Chloe’s to just idly trace her fingers along Chloe’s hand and wrist instead.

“Hmmmmmm-maybe … what would we do with the truck stopped, though?”

Chloe sputtered an inelegant coughing sound out and Max just giggled.

Chloe briefly looked back to Max, with her mouth gaping slightly from the shock.

“Damn dude. You’re going to make me crash at this rate.”

Max just sighed pleasantly and decided to let the conversation go.

She melted more into her seat, and kept tracing her fingers and nails along Chloe’s proffered hand.

“I’m really happy tonight happened.”

Chloe sighed happily.

“Yeah. I am too.”

 

The night wasn’t over, of course.

 

The rest of the drive was quiet, but not awkward.

When they parked in the Blackwell parking lot, Max giggled and piled out of the truck.

Chloe followed behind her.

For the first time, Max took someone else’s hand and led _them_ , instead of being led herself.

Chloe wasn’t complaining.

“Slow down, hippy.”

She wasn’t complaining _too much_ , anyway.

She had a dumb grin on her face the entire time, anyway.

 

Max dragged Chloe all of the way to her dorm room.

It was pretty late at night by now, so no one saw them.

Whence inside, Max sighed and took out her phone and daily equipment and put it on her desk.

She flicked on the string of lights she had along her room.

Chloe hummed appreciatively and slowly looked around with her hands in her pockets.

“It somehow looks just like you, even though it’s been years …”

Max smiled at the thought, and took off her flannel to toss it onto her couch.

She sat down on the edge of her bed.

Chloe looked at her, but immediately looked away again when Max’s eyes met hers.

Max smiled wider.

She looked down to her shoes and took them off.

Chloe eventually came to sit down next to Max on her bed, and took off her boots and jacket.

For a second or two, they both just stared at the ground.

At each other’s feet.

Their eyes slowly rode up to one another.

Chloe didn’t look away this time when Max’s made eye contact.

They just shared a smile.

 

That was enough, for a few moments.

 

Max then groaned, and laid down on her bed.

“I’m so dead from today.”

Chloe hesitated, but crawled over to lay down next to Max.

She laid down on her side, staring at Max, while Max laid on her back, staring at the ceiling.

She flicked her eyes to Chloe when she finished moving, though.

They smiled again.

“Didn’t imagine you as the dancing type, anyway.”

Max just shrugged, and sighed.

“I don’t know, Chloe … I _want_ to be the kind of person that can go to random concerts, or … random nightclubs or … whatever. I just …”

She rolled her face to the side to look at Chloe,

“Needed encouragement, or something, I guess.”

Chloe closed her eyes and made a thoughtful sound.

She collapsed down a bit more, until their faces were almost touching.

“I guess that makes sense. Even when we were kids, you never really …”

Chloe laughed softly, gently,

“You never really said no to anything stupid I wanted to do … you’d just complain, call me an idiot, and go along with me anyway.”

Max hummed thoughtfully.

“That’s because you _were_ an idiot.”

Chloe exhaled, amused, and opened her eyes to look at Max.

Max could have sworn Chloe’s eyes were sparkling, again.

It caught her breath and refused to let it go.

They held each other’s gaze for a few seconds, but Chloe soon bit her lip and looked down to the bed.

Max made an inquisitive humming sound.

Chloe sighed.

“What really happened five years ago, Max? What did I do wrong?”

Max frowned, slightly, and turned on her side to fully face Chloe.

“Chloe, no … no no no no. You didn’t … It wasn’t you.”

Chloe frowned at this herself, and looked to Max.

“How could it not have been?”

Max closed her own eyes and sighed heavily.

_Be honest._

She opened her eyes, again.

“I was just … afraid. I had these weird feelings for you that I didn’t understand and I thought that … maybe … if I kept you at arm’s length … they’d go away. You’d be my best friend again. I wouldn’t be putting this stupid burden on you.”

Chloe, exhaled, amused.

It almost turned into a quick laugh, but she ended up just groaning.

“Fuck. Fuck if I don’t relate to that… fuck if I don’t …”

Max inched a bit closer, though there was hardly any space between them as it was, and placed a hand on Chloe’s side.

She rubbed meaningfully.

Chloe mirrored the gesture.

“But maybe that was … stupid. I can’t control what I feel for you. I never could … and I probably never will.”

Chloe exhaled a shaky breath.

“Max …”

Max closed her eyes.

She leaned in –

“Max, w-wait.”

Max blinked her eyes open.

Her nose was touching Chloe’s.

She was so close now.

She could see every inch of detail of Chloe’s blush, even though the lighting from her string lights was poor, at best.

Max didn’t even know how on fire her own face, was.

She hoped Chloe enjoyed looking at it as much as she liked looking at Chloe’s.

“W-what?”

Chloe bit her own lip.

“Just … I’m stupid, I’m ruining the mood, I’m an idiot, but … I need to know. Rachel’s not interested in you romantically, right?”

Max breathed in shallowly, though rapidly.

“No. She knows … how I feel about you.”

Chloe had another shaky exhale.

“And you’re not going to ever leave me again?”

Max groaned.

“ _Chloe_.”

Chloe frowned.

“Max.”

Max sighed, and rode up the hand that had been on Chloe’s side to her cheek.

Just like when Rachel was comforting her, earlier.

She tried to use the same tone of voice, too.

Even upon later reflecting, Max would never be able to tell if she imitated Rachel knowingly, or not.

“No, Chloe. I’m never leaving you again. I think I … I think I l-love you.”

Chloe flinched, but she –

She spared zero seconds past the words processing in her brain and her body lurching forward, closing what little immoral distance remained between their two bodies.

Their lips connected.

It wasn’t anything at all like kissing Rachel.

Chloe was not detached, she was not quick, she was not bite-y.

She was sloppy, she pushed into each kiss with everything she had, and her fingers and hands didn’t know what to _do_ but they had to be on Max, holding something, touching something, gripping something and –

Max melted.

Both of their breathing got quicker and heavier with each passing kiss.

Eventually, Chloe broke away an immoral amount of distance from the kissing, but just so she could gasp a breath in and try and steady herself.

“I fucking … love you too, Max.”

Chloe’s hands moved under Max’s tank.

Max closed her eyes, and moved her hands under Chloe’s own.

 

Max never thought herself as the kind of person to behave like this.

Like any of today, really.

But maybe that was a good thing.

 

Maybe, somehow, someway, that’s what friends were for.

 

###### Decisions

This is an interactive story. It's recommended you navigate the fic through these links instead of AO3's navigation system.

[< Choose last decision again](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12061389/chapters/27527907#feedback)

[> Wake up next to Chloe](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12061389/chapters/28161396#chapters)


	7. Chapter 7

### Date Victoria

##### Day 2, Afternoon, Victoria date route

Victoria looked at her phone and hummed flatly.

She put the phone flat on her desk and tapped at the surface of her desk with her nails impatiently.

“Max says yes.”

Victoria said it suddenly, and so suddenly that it mildly surprised Taylor, who was just hanging out on her couch, scrolling through the feed on her phone.

Taylor looked up and back briefly to Victoria, but just hummed herself.

“To?”

Victoria scoffed and her eyes.

“The date.”

Taylor hummed again, still idly going through her phone.

“Did you use the words ‘gay’ and ‘date’?”

Victoria spared Taylor a glare, but Taylor wasn’t looking in her direction anyway.

Her eye rolling fell on similarly blind eyes.

“Yes, bitch, I did. Even someone like her would know it’s a date.”

Taylor suddenly paused, put her phone down, breathed in heavily, and looked back to Victoria with a weary exhale.

“For the love of god, please don’t …”

Taylor’s tone wasn’t appropriately playful, and it put a frown on Victoria’s face as she met her eyes.

“Don’t what?”

Taylor frowned, too.

“Over plan it. I know you’re already thinking about it.”

Victoria scoffed and crossed her arms defensively.

“As _if_. I would never …”

Victoria then blinked, and frowned more deeply.

Shit.

Taylor just looked back to her phone.

“Well. You did with all of our dates. And it was pretty sucky. _So_. Don’t?”

Victoria rolled her eyes and went back to staring at the message from Max on her phone.

“I’ll do what to, thanks. This is my love life.”

Taylor just rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, well, I’m involved with that now, for better or worse, and if it wasn’t for me you’d still be mocking Max for her stupid selfies or whatever instead of asking her out. Because you’re somehow even worse at relationships than fucking Max Caulfield is.”

Victoria frowned, but.

God damn it.

She scoffed and shook her head, but didn’t contradict Taylor really on any of that.

She knew it was basically impossible to, by now.

Instead, Victoria begrudgingly looked back to her and kept her frown.

“So … _what_ then? What do you want me to do if it isn’t plan a perfect date?”

Taylor blinked a bit.

She put her phone back down and looked back to Victoria, quite caught off-guard by her sounding more conceding.

“Uhhhh. Well. Why don’t you just ask her to hang out? Like we’re doing now? Dates are such fake garbage anyway. I know you’re the kind of person to want friends who can just be around you constantly … so you want a girlfriend like that too.”

Victoria looked away to her phone once more and slouched a bit in her chair.

“And that worked out _so well_ with us.”

Taylor groaned miserably and shook her head.

“ _News flash,_ idiot, you freaked out because of Rachel. _We_ were doing _fine_. And you _almost_ freaked out about Rachel _again_ when Max is so much as _seen_ by her. Well – you want some advice – stop fucking caring about Rachel.”

 

Quiet.

 

Victoria always got so miserably quiet when Taylor reminded her how unreasonable she was whenever Rachel was even vaguely a subject matter.

It took far longer than it should have, but eventually Victoria managed a weak,

“I didn’t mean to call you a bitch.”

It was hardly even an insult by now, between them at least, but Taylor knew what this flat, miserable-sounding Victoria was doing.

And she sighed, and looked back down to her phone.

She was quiet for a little bit, too.

“And I didn’t mean to call you an idiot. But. That’s my advice. Don’t treat Max special. She’s just like any other girl and puts her bra on one strap at a time.”

Quiet.

Victoria smiled gently.

“Do you think Max even wears a bra? You know, with …?”

Taylor sputtered an inelegant laugh, and looked back to Victoria.

“You are … such a bitch.”

But Taylor’s tone wasn’t angry or anything, it was purely affectionate.

Victoria just smiled, barely.

“Guilty.”

 

\---

 

As the time for her date with Victoria rapidly approached, Max felt a little anxious.

To say the least.

What were the odds Victoria actually liked her photography?

Or would enjoying working with her on the project?

This was such a stupid impulsive thing to agree to.

Chloe would never …

Ugh.

Max was stewing uselessly in her anxieties and she fucking knew it.

She laid down on her bed, defeated, and considered asking someone for help about the whole thing.

Or at least talk to someone who could calm her nerves, if nothing else.

 

She could find Taylor, Victoria’s best friend. She probably would want the date to go well just for her own sake and relationship with Victoria, and maybe she’d have some kind of understanding of Victoria’s character.

She could ask Chloe, her own newly re-minted best friend. This felt a little awkward, though, since Max just turned down a concert with her to date Victoria instead. But Chloe was Max’s friend first and above everything else. Maybe Max didn’t have to tell her it was specifically about Victoria …

She could ask Steph, maybe. She seemed to be pretty effective at kicking Chloe’s ass. Max could certainly use someone to light a fire under her ass, sometimes. And was with that comment? She said Max was Victoria’s type? Did she know Victoria, somehow?

Or she could just go it alone. Maybe play her guitar and distract herself until it was time for Victoria to come over. She was probably just being stupid and overthinking things, anyway.

 

Another decision.

At least this one felt less monumental.

 

###### Decisions

This is an interactive story. It's recommended you navigate the fic through these links instead of AO3's navigation system.

[< Choose last decision again](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12061389/chapters/27389859#feedback)

[> Ask Taylor](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12061389/chapters/27841452#chapters)

~~> Ask Chloe~~ _(coming soon)_

 ~~> Ask Steph~~ _(coming soon)_

 ~~> Go it alone~~ _(coming soon)_


	8. Chapter 8

### Ask Taylor

##### Day 2, Afternoon, Date Victoria route

Victoria really was the most confusing person Max had ever met, and maybe the best way to understand her a bit better was to talk to her best friend.

Max would certainly feel less anxious about spending time with Victoria if she didn’t have to second-guess everything she said and did.

She got out of her room and walked over to Taylor’s dorm door, and knocked on it.

No response.

Max frowned, a little bit.

She should be in her room, classes were done with by now.

Max knocked again.

Still no response.

Max frowned a bit deeper, but she –

A door opened on the far side of the hallway, and Max dumbly looked over to it.

Taylor, walking outside of Victoria’s room, and making a beeline right for Max.

Max quickly looked behind herself, but of course –

“Hey, Juliet said you’re bangin’ on my door, what’s up?”

Taylor was here for Max.

Max looked back to Taylor and tried to clear the frown off of her face.

She breathed in deeply and rubbed at her own shoulder.

“I wanna talk to you about … Victoria.”

Taylor blinked a few times, coming to a stop in front of Max and crossing her arms.

“You do? You have a date with her in like … an hour, can’t you just …?”

Taylor frowned for a few seconds, and gestured uselessly with one of her hands.

Max frowned, too, and sighed.

“I know, I know ---”

Taylor’s eyes lit up slightly, but she allowed Max to continue,

“--- I just … I don’t know … Victoria …”

Max looked away, before back to Taylor,

“I thought she hated me, and now she … asked me out? I don’t understand her and I know I’ll make some kind of stupid mistake because of it and I just ---”

Taylor raised her hands up in surrender and sighed herself.

“Okay, okay. We can talk a bit about her.”

Taylor looked behind herself, back to Victoria’s door,

“Her ears burn easily at gossip, though, so …”

She looked back to Max.

“Let’s try to keep it short, yeah?”

Max smiled, slightly, and just nodded.

Taylor walked past Max, unlocked the door to her own dorm, opened the door, and gestured for Max to go inside.

Max mutely walked into the center of her room and was immediately surprised at how tidy and barren it was. There was just a few posters for some pop bands, most of which Max could even recognize, and she hardly even listened to pop music.

Taylor closed the door behind her and crossed her arms.

Max looked back to Taylor and cleared her throat.

“Is she always … so mean?”

Taylor laughed earnestly, and shrugged.

“Yes, I mean, no, I mean, kind of. Like. Liiiiike. Okay, um.”

Taylor looked up to the ceiling briefly in consideration, before back down to Max.

“She’s … okay, imagine you’re like a reality TV star, and like every second of your life is being filmed and broadcast, from like the moment you wake up to the moment you go to bed.”

Max blinked.

“ _That’s_ how Victoria acts. She like … she puts on airs a lot. You kinda just have to learn what she means when she says some things and not take her too literally.”

Max blinked, and groaned again.

She rubbed at her shoulder and looked off to one of Taylor’s posters.

“I have a hard enough time understanding girls in general, and Victoria’s just …”

Taylor followed her eyes.

Max eventually came back to looking at Taylor.

Taylor frowned for a few seconds, then sighed and walked up to be right in front of Max.

“Hey.”

Max blinked.

“So like … Victoria is … probably the most difficult person I know, but. She’s a real sweetie when you get past that outermost layer. Probably the best friend I have. But she’s been through some stuff, yeah? Some of it is her own doing, but … her family also treats her like shit and she like just needs a hug sometimes.”

Max closed her eyes and breathed out harshly, considering Taylor’s words.

She had family issues?

She just needed a hug?

Was the bitchy exterior some kind of defensive mechanism?

“Um, anyway, enough of the pep talk. If you’re going to date Victoria, you need to learn how to keep a secret pronto. You didn’t hear any of this from me, okay?”

Max nodded numbly, since it wasn’t as though she was planning on gossiping, anyway.

“Okay. I guess that helps … a little bit. Thanks, Taylor.”

Taylor smiled sweetly.

“Sure thing, Max.”

Taylor sensed the conversation was ending and turned to face her door, but.

Max realized she had one more question.

“U-um, Taylor?”

Taylor looked back.

Max cleared her throat.

“Do you have any … advice?”

Taylor laughed earnestly, quietly shaking her head afterwards.

“Gosh that’s cute. Yeah-sure. I think you’re the first girl she’s asked out on a proper _date_ in _years_ , so … I know she’s overthinking it. Just ask her to chill in her room or something if she gets too nervous and bitchy.”

Max nodded, and Taylor’s eyes suddenly widened,

“And don’t bring up Rachel. At all. Ever. For any reason.”

Max blinked.

“Why not?”

Taylor just shook her head.

“Just don’t, Max. I promise you Victoria will get cold and angry if you do.”

Max thought about this for a few seconds, and wondered just how much Taylor actually knew. She’d already talked to Victoria about Rachel, after all.

Still, Taylor was opening her door, and gesturing out of her room.

“Now. Skedaddle. I’ll make sure Vic isn’t in _too_ sour of a mood when she comes over.”

Max nodded numbly again and started to walk out of Taylor’s room, as indicated, and back to her dorm.

Taylor closed the door and quickly caught up to Max, suddenly placing a hand on her far shoulder and hugging her to Taylor’s side.

Taylor whispered low into Max’s ear.

“By the way. If you want to hook up, I promise you Victoria will go for it if you show interest.”

Max blinked about a billion times, frozen with her mouth wide open –

Taylor giggled, skipped past Max, and walked backwards for a little bit with a pleasant wave as she made her way back to Victoria’s room.

Only when that door opened and closed again could Max breathe in deeply and shake her head.

 

Jesus Christ.

 

Max made her back to her room and thought about everything that just happened.

It was still so weird how mean she acted to Max, yet apparently wanted to date her. And with what Taylor said, too?

Maybe there was something past the bitchy side Max usually saw.

 

\---

 

Max tried to fit the pieces together until she was forcefully ejected out of her thoughts by a knocking on her door.

Right.

Victoria.

Max quietly got up from her bed and went over to the door.

She opened it, and of course Victoria was there.

Victoria was standing purposefully with her arms crossed, looking down the hallway.

She had a slight frown on her face, though that was habitual, and her clothing looked like any other day for her, though that still meant she was dressing up considerably more than Max was.

She looked over to Max, suddenly, and the movement was jittery and excitable.

It was too quick and snappy for how Victoria usually moved and Max somehow picked up on this immediately – probably because she was so transfixed in Victoria she barely even remembered to breathe.

Breathe.

Right.

Victoria’s frown deepened.

“Took you long enough.”

Max groaned before she could help it.

She didn’t even really take that long to open her door, this time.

What _would_ it take to actually satisfy Victoria?

Another thought hit her, simultaneously, inspired by Taylor’s words.

Was this a show? An act?

Did Victoria not actually care that much if took Max a while to open the door? She just wanted her to _think_ she did?

But Max was doing that thing where she was thinking instead of acting again, and the silence wore heavily on Victoria, until she too groaned loudly and raised a hand up to rub at her temples.

“Just … invite me in already, hipster.”

Max blinked, and cleared her throat.

What did Taylor say, again? This was Victoria’s first real date? Maybe they should –

“Um, a-actually,”

Max breathed in deeply herself.

Victoria blinked a few times and recrossed her arms, her expression suddenly becoming quite neutral.

Max bit her lip, since it felt like Victoria was judging her again somehow, but tried to navigate through that particular anxiety.

“I was thinking we could … chill in your room? Instead?”

Victoria slowly raised an eyebrow and Max wished dearly she was better at reading people or Victoria was less of an emotionless husk so she could _tell_ what was –

“You want to chill in my room? … _Why_?”

Victoria sounded genuinely surprised, though, and not offended.

Max decided this was a good thing. It gave her some confidence that Taylor’s words were more-or-less accurate.

Which meant Victoria was probably incredibly nervous about this, just like Max.

“I just – “

Max shook her head,

“- I just get so nervous thinking about you … and me … on a date –“

Victoria’s eyes widened slightly, but Max continued, albeit looking away slightly,

“So … I thought it’d be easier if we … don’t? do that? At first? If we just … yeah …”

Max hoped she was more convincing than she sounded.

She looked back to Victoria and tried her best to smile earnestly while rubbing at the back of her own neck.

Victoria was quiet for a few seconds in deliberation.

Her fingers impatiently tapped at her own arms.

Now the quiet was painful on Max.

Her face was just so _nothing_ -

Eventually Victoria sighed wearily, shook her head, and turned around.

“Fine. Have it your way, I guess.”

Victoria sounded kind of annoyed, but she always did, anyway.

More importantly, she was agreeing?

This felt surreal, but Max was putting one foot in front of the other and following behind Victoria before she could help it.

 

Inside Victoria’s room, things felt a bit different.

Max stood awkwardly in the center of her room and looked around, since she had never really gotten a good opportunity beforehand to.

Victoria’s furniture was so nice and expensive-looking.

Her couch had so many throw pillows yet they all seemed to be laid out exactly right, coordinated.

Max lost herself for a few moments just looking at some of the framed pictures around her room.

 

Victoria had perched herself on her computer chair, and turned to face Max.

She was quiet for a while, almost boredly watching with her jaw resting on a hand resting on one crossed arm.

Her fingers tapped impatiently at her own skin, again.

“So … we’re here. Hanging out. _Fun_.”

Victoria’s words brought Max back to reality.

Her sarcastic snarking felt somehow less disapproving, this time.

Max looked to Victoria, then politely took a seat on her couch to avoid standing so awkwardly and obviously gawking at her room’s furnishings.

“I um, just … Sorry. I like your room. It looks like you put a lot of effort into making it … pretty.”

Victoria scoffed and rolled her eyes.

But both of these actions were slower and more relaxed than she usually did them.

She was leaning too much into her seat.

“Yes, of course, but I’m sure it’s just the expensive furniture that – “

“- No, the – “

Max suddenly realized she had gotten the nerve, somewhere, somehow, to interrupt Victoria.

It seemed as shocking to Victoria as it was to her, and they both sat quietly for a second or two.

It should have been more awkward than it felt, but Victoria was staying quiet, and not getting annoyed at Max, so Max decided to keep going,

“The pictures. And stuff. You chose all of those clearly and … thoughtfully. Like you said in my room, right? There’s effort here. A-and I like it.”

Victoria swished her lips from side to side, but nodded slowly.

She broke her hand away from her jaw and leaned back into her seat, and while her arms did cross again, the posture read as relaxed to Max.

“I suppose so.”

She hesitated, and her eyes flicked off to one of her walls but to exactly where Max couldn’t tell,

“Do you … have any favorites?”

Max blinked, and looked around her room again.

There were so many framed pictures of various styles along Victoria’s room and she knew all of them were technically impressive on one level or another but she –

She pointed on impulse to one that Victoria had hung above her desk, on her wall.

“Yeah. That one.”

Victoria blinked, and slowly turned her head around to look at the picture.

She emitted a flat humming sound and hesitated for a few seconds before looking back to Max.

“ _That_ one?”

Victoria sounded genuinely surprised again, and Max realized she liked hearing Victoria’s voice when there was _some_ kind of emotion in it –

“What _about_ it?”

She slowly looked back to Max.

Victoria’s eyebrows were raised slightly and her eyes were a bit wide, and although her lips were pursed –

“It’s … I don’t know. Was just drawn to it. I like pictures with like … extreme angles, bold statements, lots of style …”

Max looked back down to Victoria.

“I don’t know, I guess, I don’t know all of the technical terms like you do, I just … like it. I’d want to have it in my room.”

Victoria made a thoughtful sound at this.

“Thanks … Max.”

Max smiled –

Victoria suddenly cleared her throat and stood up.

Her posture wasn’t as relaxed as it was in the chair, and Max’s smile went away.

Perhaps it would be silly to think one little compliment would change Victoria that much.

“So … what did you want to do, anyway?”

Still, her voice felt softer on Max’s ears, somehow, after that little gentle moment they had.

Even when she looked at Max with that slightly frumpy frown, standing tall over her, it didn’t seem as judgmental.

Max looked away from Victoria to her TV – this absurdly nice TV that was just sitting across her couch.

Victoria’s eyes followed her.

“We could watch a movie? Do you … like moves? I love movies.”

Victoria made another thoughtful sound, and hesitated for a few seconds.

Max watched Victoria, but Victoria kept looking at the TV instead of at Max.

She tapped her fingers rapidly on her arms.

“I … sure.”

Quiet.

It was a little awkward now.

Max rubbed at the back of her neck.

“Do you have like Netflix on it or … something?”

Victoria scoffed again, and walked back to her laptop to pull it free from its dock and sit down next to Max, on the couch.

Max couldn’t help but notice her lavender perfume.

“Yes, actually.”

Max leaned over, obnoxiously, to look at Victoria’s computer screen, more out of impulse than -

“ _Um_ , snoop much?”

Victoria looked sidelong to her with that frown again.

Max bit her lip and scooted a few inches away.

 _This_ sounded like she had genuinely gone too far.

“S-sorry.”

Victoria sighed and looked back to the computer, slowly shaking her head.

“ _Whatever_ , it’s fine, I guess.”

Max blinked at this, but when she scooted closer to Victoria, she didn’t get rebuffed again looking at her screen.

Was that an act, too?

If Victoria was genuinely annoyed by Max’s snooping, would she gave in so casually and quickly forgiven it?

Max thought she was slowly piecing together a way to understand Victoria’s behavior, with the framework given to her by Taylor.

Maybe that was just for fun?

How should Max even respond to that?

Max decided to speak, to give herself some time to think about things without it being awkward.

“What um, kind of movies do you like?”

Victoria scoffed, amused, again, and closed her eyes.

She leaned back into the couch somewhat.

“Oh, you know. Stuff.”

Max blinked.

That was … unhelpful. It derailed her previous thoughts.

“Stuff? Like … what?”

Victoria just shrugged.

When Max had looked around earlier, she spotted an unusual figurine on Victoria’s desk.

Her eyes looked past Victoria to it, again.

“Like anime stuff? I see that Totoro figurine …”

Victoria’s eyes suddenly shot _wide_ open and her body stiffened _considerably_ and she snapped her gaze in that entire-too-fast and jitter manner to her desk and she –

She hastily put the computer on the couch and stormed over to her desk, picking up the figurine Max had noticed earlier and thoughtlessly tossing it into her closet with an indignant huff.

Max just blinked and watched in perfectly dead silence as Victoria did all of this, deeply lost in thought and trying to understand the behavior.

Victoria came back to the couch with another huff, and sat down with her arms tightly crossed.

She even crossed her legs, this time.

“I don’t like anime. I was keeping that for a friend.”

Max bit her lip.

This felt like it was time to test Taylor’s theories.

Max scooted closer to Victoria –

Victoria blinked –

Max put her hand on Victoria’s shoulder –

Victoria tensed up and blinked again, and carefully looked at Max –

Max tried to smile.

“I don’t care if you like it or not, Victoria, really. I’m not just going to …”

What did Taylor say? Victoria acted like everything was being recorded? For her popularity?

“ … gossip or something the second I see you like something uncool.”

Victoria pursed her lips tightly, and she looked deeply into Max’s eyes, and her eyes danced around excitably for a few seconds –

She then huffed for a third time and looked back to her TV.

She was quiet for a long while.

“Whatever. It’s nothing. I just … like that movie. Not a lot or anything, just. Y’know. Whatever.”

She picked her laptop back up and relaxed, a little bit, back into the couch.

She certainly sounded a bit tense, though, and still jittery. She spoke too fast.

Max rubbed at her shoulder for a little bit before removing her hand.

“We can watch it. It’s one of my favorite Miyazaki movies.”

Victoria spared her a little sidelong glance, and scoffed.

“ _Nerd_.”

There – another one of those –

Max decided to push back on Victoria, testing the idea this was more playful than serious –

“Yeah. And even _I_ don’t have a Totoro figurine.”

Victoria emitted an actual little short chuckle at this, instead of just an amused-sounding scoff.

She looked back to her computer, with a very slight smile on her face.

Holy crap.

Did Max to the right thing?

Taylor’s advice felt more and more right the more she tested it.

And it felt weirdly liberating to know that Victoria’s digs weren’t actually that serious?

Still, figuring out Victoria was an exhausting process, and Max still wanted to have a good time out of all of this.

She opened her mouth –

Victoria beat her to the punch.

“Alright. We’ll watch it, _nerd_.”

Max just sighed contently and leaned back into the couch.

She could do that.

It’d feel good to have something nice and thoughtful to empty her brain with.

Victoria got up, turned off the lights, went back into her closet, retrieved the figurine, and sat down next to Max, again.

Victoria ran her fingers along it for a few seconds, before handing it over to Max, and starting the movie on her laptop.

It started playing on the TV soon enough.

Quiet.

“Totoro is my favorite character in it.”

Victoria sounded so different when she said this, so quiet and thoughtful.

Max hummed gently, looking over the figurine herself.

The more layers of Victoria Max saw, the more curious she was.

This unguarded, dorky layer was especially of interest to her.

Taylor said there was a lot more to see, still, too.

The movie started, and Max tried to clear her mind.

She just scooted right up next to Victoria, melted into the couch, and idly ran her fingers along the figurine.

This wasn’t how she expected her date to Victoria to go, but.

This was probably as good as it could have possibly been.

 

 

###### Decisions

This is an interactive story. It's recommended you navigate the fic through these links instead of AO3's navigation system.

[< Choose last decision again](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12061389/chapters/27841404#feedback)

[> Fall asleep watching the movie](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12061389/chapters/29331126#chapters)


	9. Chapter 9

### Go to the Dork Club

##### Day 2, Afternoon, Dork Club Route

Max was completely overwhelmed in trying to make a decision, and maybe the best thing for her would be to do the selfish thing she _knew_ she would enjoy and probably wouldn’t be able to mess up.

A little movie with Steph and Warren.

It felt criminally selfish, really – Chloe just confessed crushing on her, Victoria made it plain that she wanted gay dating things out of her but –

Trying to decide was just impossible. It felt like she’d be making someone upset no matter what she decided, but at least she could put all of that out of her mind and just focus on the movie.

Max wasn’t sure how shaky a rationalization this was as she texted Steph to her she was coming to the movie, but it felt good enough for now.

Somehow, she didn’t feel too anxious about the upcoming movie time.

Warren was always super nice to her and Steph seemed like she would be, too.

Max just had to be nerdy with some other nerds.

If there was one thing Max could be relied upon to do that, it was that.

 

\---

 

“Max is canceling on me.”

Victoria almost broke a nail from how tightly she closed her first.

Taylor hummed thoughtfully from on Victoria’s couch, a habitual perch for her by now.

“Yeah? Give you any reason?”

Victoria sighed.

“No.”

Taylor hummed flatly.

“Look, I’m sure it’s –“

Victoria scoffed angrily and interrupted,

“- She hates me. I knew it. I know it. She’s doing this to spite me and she’s ---”

Taylor groaned loudly.

Victoria _sounded_ annoyed, but she knew what this was really.

This wasn’t anger.

This was insecurity.

She got up from the couch and walked over to Victoria, who had been sitting mindlessly on her computer chair while staring at her phone.

Taylor put a hand on her shoulder, and Victoria begrudgingly trailed off her ranting and looked up to her.

Victoria deflated a little bit under Taylor’s concerned look.

“Max is the least likely person out of anyone on campus to act out of spite, you know that. I’m sure something just came up. It’s not you.”

Victoria’s eyes wavered at Taylor’s assurances and her mind raced –

Taylor was right, of course –

Max was a fucking gentle dork and wouldn’t –

Ugh.

Victoria slowly looked back down to her phone and just sighed wearily.

She crossed her arms and tapped her fingers impatiently.

“Maybe.”

Quiet.

“But the way she _phrased_ it – “

Taylor rolled her eyes and scoffed.

“Yeah, because Max is _so_ careful about her words. I’m sure the phrasing was _completely_ deliberate and thought out.”

Quiet.

Victoria swished her lips from side to side, and then just miserably groaned and hid her face in her arms.

“Alright fine whatever I’m overreacting I got it _thanks_.”

It came out too quickly, too nervously, too jittery but –

Taylor didn’t remove her hand on Victoria’s shoulder, and just kept rubbing until the weight on her was less and the worry less obviously draining.

Quietly.

 

\---

 

Chloe looked to her phone making a noise.

She’d been laying down on her bed, idly smoking weed and just trying to relax.

Her step-shit’s rules were that there was no smoking in the house, but she only followed his rules some of the time, mostly when Steph twisted her arm into trying to play nice with him.

She considered just letting the phone sit for a bit because she was pretty comfortable.

But then her eyes caught sight of who it was –

Max –

Chloe reached for her phone without a second thought entering into her mind and quickly unlocked it.

But then she just frowned, after unlocking it.

And she groaned.

Goddamn it.

Max canceled on going to the concert.

Chloe frowned more deeply, and was hit with two thoughts simultaneously.

Max wasn’t that into her, probably.

But also Max wasn’t really the rocking type? Time with Steph seemed more up her alley.

Chloe considered going to the Dork Club herself if it meant Max would be more comfortable there but –

She couldn’t _totally_ drop everything for Max.

Chloe really wanted to see this concert.

And it was like Steph said: Be clear. Be honest. Go slowly.

Max just got back into her life one freaking day ago.

Chloe would find something else they could do, probably.

Just a bit later.

When freaking Victoria wasn’t asking her on a date.

Chloe still couldn’t believe _that_.

Thoughtlessly, Chloe dialed up Steph and slumped back onto her bed.

She sighed deeply and closed her eyes.

“Hey, nerd, how you feeling?”

Steph’s responses were breezy.

“Gay in both senses of the word.”

Chloe rolled her eyes.

“So I heard Max is doing the movie thing or whatever.”

Steph made a long humming noise.

“And you’re having an anxiety attack over her not choosing you.”

Chloe groaned painfully. She raised a hand up to rub forcefully at her cheeks and eyes.

“I didn’t say that.”

Steph scoffed.

“You didn’t have to. Look, I’m sure it’s nothing. She apologized for canceling, right?”

Chloe thought about it for a second.

“Yeah.”

Steph made that humming sound again.

“So she feels bad about it and cares. Just have fun tonight, stop stressing, and ask her out somewhere else later.”

Chloe considered the words, along what she had more-or-less concluded, and wondered when her line of thinking became so close to Steph’s.

“Yeah. Was thinkin’ that.”

Steph made an approving sound.

“Oh. _Right_ , I keep forgetting you’re less of a mess these days. Why you’d call me up then, silly?”

It was Chloe’s turn to hum thoughtfully.

“I just wanted to tell you that Max totally isn’t going to enjoy the Dork Club as much as the place _I_ take her to, later on.”

Steph just laughed, earnestly.

“ _Uh-huh_ , we’ll see about that.”

 

\---

 

When the time came to leave, Max didn’t dress up or anything. She just put on one of her hoodies and walked out of her dorm.

She still felt pretty good about this afternoon.

Chloe and Victoria didn’t response that negatively to being canceled on – at least through text.

Max still kind of half-expected to Victoria to come by out of nowhere and bitch at her for having the nerve to stand her up, or something.

But still, it made it a bit easier to think this wasn’t a huge mistake and maybe she wasn’t acting horribly selfishly.

 

Weirdly, the club was on campus, at least according to the directions Steph gave her.

Didn’t she graduate?

Well, maybe it was Warren’s club.

It made her slightly pensive as she knocked on the door to the club – some reclaimed class room because it was after hours and emptied out.

Max thought this was silly to do right after she finished knocking, she should just open the door and walk in, it’s not like they had –

“Password?”

Warren’s voice came from the other side of the door.

Max let out an amused sound before she could help it, and tried the door, but someone was bracing the door or it was locked and didn’t budge.

Max rolled her eyes.

“Warren, come on.”

She could hear Warren repress some laughing poorly, and someone repressing some giggles even more poorly.

“Password!”

Max removed her hand from the door handle to cross her arms and shook her head gently.

Warren always had this habit of putting her into a more playful, less anxious mood.

“Adam Savage.”

Quiet.

Thunk.

The door opened, and Warren was there smiling effusively.

 

Warren put the most effort about his appearance into his shirts: they were always graphic, and they always amused Max.

Max wondered where he got all of them.

This one Max immediately recognized as a reference to _Alien._

There were several target practice dummies, each of them with a face hugger in increasingly more of a humorous position.

The first found its mark successfully on the dummy’s face.

The second had given up and was just sleeping on the floor.

The third had gotten a funny idea and was just planted on another dummy’s groin.

And of course, there was a stylized xenomorph observing, face palming.

Max smiled.

 

Steph was behind him with her arms crossed, but she also looked genuinely amused.

Max had only seen her once in person before but she looked different this time.

She didn’t have her beanie on, so Max could see the blonde dye go almost to her roots.

She dressed with distressed jeans, a white tank, and a tan throw cardigan.

Her dragon necklace stood out quite loudly against the white tank top.

 

Max walked in and Warren closed the door behind her.

She turned to face him.

“That wasn’t actually the password, was it?”

Warren just shrugged, smiling.

“Nah. We don’t have a password. Just messing with you.”

Steph shook her head.

“We like seeing what new members guess for it. Tells you a lot about what they’re interested in.”

Warren laughed briefly.

“Like that you’re into the same kinds of super awesome science dudes as I am!”

Max couldn’t help but smile at this, though her arms were still crossed.

Steph rolled her eyes.

“Though, we’ve certainly gotten some interesting answers before.”

Max looked to Steph.

“Really? What’s the weirdest answer you got?”

Warren’s expression died somewhat.

It was Steph’s turn to laugh.

“Chloe said,”

Steph cleared her throat and made her face dour,

“’Warren open this damn door right now or I swear to god I’m punching you in the dick so hard your kids will even feel it’.”

Her impression of Chloe had her voice lowering down far too much and seemed intentionally mocking.

Warren looked away and rubbed at the back of his neck.

“Chloe’s scary sometimes.”

Max laughed and gently shook her head.

She felt a small twang of guilt, suddenly, out of nowhere.

How many cute moments like that did she miss of Chloe? Of anyone else in Arcadia Bay?

Still, this was a happy time so far, and Max tried to clear her mind of that kind of stewing.

“So um, the movie?”

Max looked around, and realized it was just the three of them and a giant projector on the far side of the room, and maybe a dozen chairs arranged behind it.

“Is this … everyone?”

She looked back to Warren and Steph.

Steph just shrugged.

“Sort of a slow night. We usually get more people on Fridays.”

Warren nodded slowly, and shoved his hands into his jeans pockets.

“Y’know, since we don’t have anything better to do, and it feels lame to stay in on a Friday night.”

Steph scoffed.

“Excuse you. _You_ don’t have anything better to do. I can go with Chloe to some random bar if I want to.”

Warren smiled again, and looked to her.

“’sept you never do.”

Steph just exhaled, amused, and shook her head.

“Smart ass.”

Steph started walking towards the chairs, and Warren followed behind her.

Max hesitated only for a few seconds before following behind the both of them.

She decided she liked the little banter between the two of them.

At least Warren seemed to have a friend that wasn’t Max.

 

The three of them came to a stop in front of the seats.

Max thoughtlessly sat down on the left-most seat in the front row.

She liked having end seats so only one person could sit next to her.

Steph and Warren looked to each other, then Max.

They both made a move for the seat next to her.

She blinked.

They both frowned, and turned to face one another with a huff.

“You sit next to her in class, dork. Let me now.”

Warren shook his head.

“Hardly. It’s one period and we don’t even always.”

Steph rolled her eyes.

“One is greater than zero, numb-nuts.”

Warren pursed his lips.

“Except for very large values of zero and very small values of one.”

Steph shook her head with a frustrated sigh, and looked to Max.

“Max? Who do you want to sit next to?”

Max found this such an impossibly silly thing to get into an argument over.

She’d still be pretty close to both of them.

The door to the room suddenly opened, and Warren made an annoyed-sounding grunt.

The three of them looked back to it.

“Hey! Password!”

The door awkwardly froze and remained just half-opened.

“Um… I solemnly swear I’m up to no good?”

Steph and Warren made a content noise.

“Oh. Hi, Sam.”

The door opened fully and a small brunette with long hair squeaked her way over to the chairs and the group.

“Sorry I’m late …”

Warren just smiled.

“Nah! It’s nothing! We were just …”

Warren looked to Max, and Max spared him a glance, though mostly just kept analyzing this new girl.

“… acclimating Max, here.”

Sam acknowledged Max’s presence by looking at her and smiling gently.

“Oh, hi. Are you new? I don’t … go to these too often, so I probably just … missed you, or something.”

Max tried to smile up at Sam, though Sam looked away ever-so-slightly when their eyes met.

“Yeah, new. Steph invited me, and I’m Warren’s friend. I’m Max.”

Sam looked back and smiled herself.

“That’s nice.”

Quiet.

Steph cleared her throat.

Everyone looked to her.

“Anyway. With the introductions out of the way … who do you want to sit next to, Max?”

Max blinked, again.

This being a decision at all was still so incredibly silly to her, but it seemed to matter for some reason to Steph and Warren.

Max’s eyes briefly flicked to Sam.

Maybe Max could vocalize how silly she found the whole thing by choosing neither.

Besides.

Sam seemed a little awkward and quiet, and her mom jeans and jacket were astonishingly familiar.

Maybe she’d be a nice buffer between the louder and more boisterous Warren and Steph.

But …

Then again.

Steph was nice.

And she did want to know her best friend’s friend a bit better.

Max didn’t really consider picking Warren.

She already sat next to him enough to know she’d not actually watch the movie at all for how often he’d be bugging her about this and that.

And she _did_ actually want to see at least _a little bit_ of this movie.

Decisions, decisions.

At least this one was so silly and inconsequential it wouldn’t really matter what she chose.

What a nice change of pace from yesterday.

 

###### Decisions

This is an interactive story. It's recommended you navigate the fic through these links instead of AO3's navigation system.

[< Choose last decision again](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12061389/chapters/27389859#feedback)

[> Choose Steph](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12061389/chapters/28004061#chapters)

~~> Choose Sam~~ _(coming soon)_


	10. Chapter 10

### Choose Steph

##### Day 2, Afternoon, Dork Club Route

Despite Max’s slight annoyance that they decided to make such a big deal out of this, Max didn’t think too long or hard about who she wanted to sit next to.

“Fine, if I have to choose … then I choose Steph.”

Warren immediately deflated and he raised a hand to put it across his heart.

“Mad Max! You shot me through the heart! Ow!”

Max rolled her eyes, but was smiling at Warren’s theatrics.

Steph rolled her eyes, too, but was grinning afterwards as she looked to Warren.

“You heard the cutie.”

_Cutie._

There it was, again.

Steph calling her cute.

Max blinked.

Warren crossed his arms in an over-exaggerated manner and sighed.

“Yeah, yeah …”

Steph was all smiles as she proudly swaggered over to the chair next to Max and sat herself down on it.

Max noticed she sat down too forcefully and carelessly, like Chloe always used to.

Sam quietly watched the exchange and blinked as Max did, wordlessly.

While Warren was still pouting and being useless, Steph looked over to Sam, and patted down at the seat on the other side of her while looking at Sam.

“C’mere.”

Sam really didn’t need a lot of further encouragement, and quietly made her way over to where Steph indicated, though she sat down much more carefully and slowly than Steph did.

Warren noticed what was going on half-way through and made a whining sound.

“What! Now I get to sit at the end?”

Steph just kept on grinning and nodded.

“Snooze you lose, loser. Now sit down and stop complaining.”

Sam giggled gently.

Max looked sidelong to the two, before back to Warren.

He just sighed and continued to visibly pout, but did eventually sit down on Sam’s other side.

“Kids these days, so dramatic.”

Warren groaned at still more ribbing from Steph.

“I’m like not even two years younger! Chill!”

Steph nodded at this, and suddenly put on her best old woman voice.

“ _When I was your age_ …”

Max and Sam both couldn’t help but giggle at this even, especially when Warren made an even _more_ pained-sounding groan.

But still, Warren seemed to realize he had come out of this on the bottom, and decided to shut up, in case he exposed himself to more playful ribbing from Steph.

Steph leaned forward a bit and hummed thoughtfully.

“Where’s the movie, Warren?”

Warren looked sidelong to Steph.

“Thought you had it.”

Steph sighed.

“And I don’t. So we don’t have it.”

Warren crossed his arms.

“I specifically gave you a thumb drive with it so you could burn it.”

Steph nodded.

“And I specifically gave you the resulting DVD because I knew I would forget it.”

Quiet.

Steph looked over to Warren.

“Oh. Right.”

Warren looked away and rubbed at the back of his head.

“Forgot about that, I guess.”

Max smiled.

“Guess you’re going to get it, then.”

Steph and Sam both giggled at Max’s words.

Warren looked over to Max with his eyes wide.

“Nooo! Don’t you start too! One Steph is bad enough!”

Steph shook her head.

“Less complaining, more DVD fetching, slave boy.”

Warren sighed wearily, but stood up from his seat all of the same.

“Fine fine fine okay jeez. Guess it’s my fault anyway.”

Warren made a dismissive wave behind himself as he started walking out of the class room.

 

Steph just rolled her eyes again and looked forward with another sigh.

“Drama queen.”

Sam and Max giggled, though Max noticed by now that Sam always tried to hide her little giggles with her hand.

Quiet.

It was a little awkward, but Warren and Steph were so used to casually talking and poking fun at one another, Max felt like she really didn’t need to say anything.

They had that talking thing all covered.

Even if Warren wasn’t here anymore.

Steph felt differently though, with the silence clearly wearing down on her. She patted at her own lap a little bit before looking to Max.

“So Max. How’s it going? Little surprised you decided to spend the night here instead of with one of the lovely ladies after you.”

Max blushed just a little bit at the reminder she now had women actively pursuing dates at her, but shook her head with a calm sigh.

“I’m okay… just it’s a little … stressful, or something, to have all of that attention on me, suddenly.”

Steph nodded with a thoughtful sound.

Sam looked over, and it looked as though she might say something, with her mouth opening slightly, but Steph beat her to it, and her mouth immediately closed afterwards.

“I can imagine. Well, not really, but. I wouldn’t want to choose between Chloe or Victoria, for sure. I know I can talk Chloe down from being dramatic, but Victoria is … something else.”

Max nodded at this. Sam’s eyes widened a bit.

Max realized this probably seemed kind of crazy from an outside point of view.

“Yeah … it’s … _crazy_. I feel like I … need chill afternoons like this, just watching some dumb movie or something, or I might explode or … something.”

Steph laughed and raised a hand to place it on Max’s shoulder and rubbing consolingly.

Max immediately looked to the hand, but Steph didn’t remove it under the scrutiny. She just squeezed.

“Well don’t _explode_. I don’t think Chloe’s poor heart could take that.”

Max smiled a little as she looked up to Steph.

“How did you meet Chloe, anyway? You two seem … close.”

Steph nodded, and kept rubbing at Max’s shoulder for a little bit as she thought about what to say.

Eventually, she pulled the hand away, and just looked forward with both of her hands placed comfortably in her lap.

“That’s a fun story. Um. I kinda casually knew her since ever since I burned DVDs for money – don’t judge me – and she wanted movies every so often.”

Max and Sam both blinked.

Steph made a thoughtful hum and cracked her neck.

“Anyway one day she ups and plops herself on this table me and Mikey – sweet kid but you wouldn’t know him he’s been gone for a bit – were playing at and she’s all like ‘yeah I’ll play DnD’.”

Max hummed pleasantly.

“Surprised she still plays DnD.”

Steph nodded with a smile.

“That’s the thing. She goes all like ‘oh I used to play this with Max’ – without explaining who that was, by the way – and next thing I know she’s in our game and punching everyone she can in the dick.”

Max blinked. Sam giggled in that muted way she did.

“In the dick?”

It was Steph’s turn to laugh.

“In. The. Dick.”

Max laughed herself, and calmed herself down with a pleased exhale.

“Sounds like fun. I always used to play pathfinder with her … she wasn’t very good, but she tried, and it was … nice.”

Steph just shrugged.

“She did pretty okay. Her character got totally destroyed, but she saved someone else at least, and killed the baddie.”

Max looked forward, wordlessly, though she was smiling.

Slightly sad and wistful, but also smiling.

This whole thing was making her wonder more often than she wanted about how many of these cute little Chloe moments she missed.

“That sounds nice. I wish I was there.”

It came out without her even thinking about it, and Steph’s expression faded slightly.

She put her hand back on Max’s shoulder and squeezed.

“Hey.”

 

Max looked back over to Steph, who looked slightly concerned by now.

“Don’t let that eat away at you, okay? Chloe’s really happy you’re back _now_. _That’s_ what’s important.”

Max smiled at this and looked down to Steph’s hand for a few seconds before nodding gently and looking back forward.

“Yeah. I guess you’re right. Thanks, Steph.”

Steph smiled herself.

“Of course, Max. I was beginning to _miss_ having someone useless to help, so I’m glad you’re back, too.”

Max blinked and her hackles raised.

“Hey …”

Sam giggled.

Steph giggled, too.

“Oh jeez you’re blushing again. I’m just playing around.”

Max frowned, but she couldn’t help that she was indeed blushing just a little bit.

Steph didn’t really give her the time to process this ribbing, though.

“Hey Max –”

Max looked back to her,

“—I hear Warren in the hallway. I kinda want to make him jealous as hell because he’s got a big crush on you. Do you mind if I put my arm around you?”

Max blinked only a thousand times and her blush became more intense.

What?

First Steph was calling her cute, now she was –

But Max was too slow to respond –

She heard the door opening –

Steph looked back barely before scooting her hand over to Max’s other shoulder –

Max was suddenly being hugged into Steph’s side.

Sam watched the events quietly, blinking as uselessly as Max was.

Steph suddenly laughed as Warren entered into the room.

“Oh jeez, that’s such a funny story, Max.”

Max felt like she was not keeping up at all with the game, but Steph’s eyes were momentarily pleading and wavering, and her arm was quite affectionate, even if initially unwanted.

She decided she could play along, at least for now, and settled herself a bit more into Steph’s side, looking forward, as Warren walked up to the front row.

“Hey what! You all are telling awesome stories without me?”

The three of them looked to Warren, who quickly moved to the front of the class room to start fiddling with some video equipment.

Steph scoffed.

“Yeah. Max has some cute ones ---”

There was that damn word again,

“--- that you really ought to hear sometime.”

Warren paused in his fussing to look at the three of them – mostly Steph and Max – and his eyes quickly scanned all over their hunched-together posture, with Steph’s arm going over Max’s back to her opposite shoulder –

Warren groaned, shook his head, and went back to fussing.

“Lamesauce. You never told _me_ any fun stories, Max.”

Steph carefully but meaningfully patted at Max’s shoulder –

She should probably say something to play along –

“Um. I uh … I just remembered some … from some things Steph said …”

It didn’t _feel_ like a good lie, and Max could see Steph’s eyes rolling out of the corner of her eyes, but Warren seemed okay with it.

“Really! I’ll have to try talking to you about all kinds of stuff then, to see if I can jog your memory, too.”

Oh dear.

Max thought about protesting and revealing the deception just so Warren didn’t –

Steph suddenly exhaled gently at Max’s ear –

“Thanks.”

It was like a gentle whisper, and her hand on Max’s shoulder became very reassuring, rubbing firmly yet slowly while the arm draped behind her neck.

Max unconsciously melted a bit more into Steph’s side and decided she didn’t need to object.

Steph was … nice. This felt nice. It even felt nice to get a rise out of Warren, and Steph seemed to be quite good at doing that.

Max could keep playing along.

 

Soon enough, Warren had the DVD that he spent so much time retrieving inserted, and the movie started to play on the classroom’s projector. He hurriedly made his way over the back of the class room to turn off the lights, before quickly hurrying back to the seat next to Sam – even with a little squeak from his sneakers as he skidded to a halt in front of the seat.

He breathed in a bit too forcefully for the small amount of physical effort her just exerted, and sat down on the seat to look at the screen.

“Was that worth it, Speedy Gonzales? Movie won’t even really start for another few minutes.”

Steph’s teasing came so automatically, but Max couldn’t say she disliked it.

It made her feel like she was part of everything to see their friendly banter like this.

Warren just scoffed.

“You have to experience a movie in its entirety! Title card to end of credits.”

Max rolled her eyes, but she was still smiling as she settled a bit more into Steph’s side to start watching the movie.

 

As the movie progressed, Steph’s hand became more casually affectionate and gentle instead of the more reassuring rubs from earlier.

It just felt nice to have that kind of touch.

About halfway through the movie, Max quietly realized she might actually go a whole movie without someone interrupting her to talk about what just happened.

Her decision to choose anyone _but_ Warren felt so vindicated, now.

It really did feel nice to just be able to turn off her brain and watch this awful shlocky thing.

And cuddle? Was this cuddling? Into Steph’s side, that was nice and relaxing, too.

 

Eventually, the movie ended, and Warren immediately stood up to clap excitedly at the credits rolling.

“Awesome!”

Max rolled her eyes again, but still yet again, she was smiling.

She finally stood upright though to roll her shoulders around.

Steph finally removed her hand and stretched out her arms in front of her.

Sam thought this was a good idea, and copied her verbatim.

Max thought this was a good idea too, but stretched her arms up above her instead with a small yawn.

Warren suddenly patted at his pockets and pulled out his phone.

“Oh. Um. Gotta go. Thanks for the movie, guys.”

“Bye-bye, Warren.”

The three of them watched him leave, though he at least had the decency to turn on the lights as he went.

After the door closed, Sam quietly cleared her throat and stood up.

“I should … probably go, too. It was fun, though …”

She looked to Max with a smile.

“It was nice meeting you.”

Max returned the smile.

“Likewise. Hope to see you again, soon.”

Sam just nodded politely and turned to leave the classroom.

Quiet.

Steph’s hand was on Max’s shoulder, again, though the close one instead this time.

Max smiled and turned to look at her.

Steph was smiling, too.

“I’m glad you came, Max. It would have been really boring without you.”

Max frowned slightly at this, and shook her head.

“What? It was mostly you and Warren talking … I just … sat here.”

Steph scoffed and stood up.

“And chose me over him. I loved that look on his face. And then let me hold you like that. Again, amazing look. It was great.”

She sighed contently and closed her eyes for a few seconds.

Max decided to stand up herself, since it seemed like the event was pretty well over with, now.

“I guess … it didn’t feel like I contributed much, though.”

Steph hummed thoughtfully, and crossed her arms.

“Well. How about this, then? We can walk back to your dorm and you can talk about yourself for a bit. Or Chloe, whatever.”

Max thought about this, for a few seconds.

Steph could see her considering, and just smiled gently.

“Maybe I can sweeten the deal a little bit more? Were you doing homework before you came over here? I bet I can help with that, too.”

Max definitely was doing homework, and definitely wasn’t getting much progress done on it.

These days were just so exhausting and stressful lately …

“Okay. That sounds … nice, actually.”

Max smiled.

Steph smiled wider.

 

They barely made it outside of the door, though.

Warren, Nathan, and Victoria were all standing outside, near some lockers.

Nathan had Warren up against a wall and was doing something to him – but the position didn’t let Max see what.

Victoria was standing by the two, looking as annoyed as she ever did, though looked up from her nails to Steph and Max as they left the class room.

Her eyes flicked between Steph and Max and then back again, and she frowned.

Max gulped.

Steph gently patted at Max’s shoulder again before crossing her own arms and looking – staring? – at Victoria.

Victoria pursed her lips, sighed in exasperation, and quietly walked over to the two, rubbing at her temples and avoiding eye contact by looking at the floor.

Max felt like they had just exchanged an awful lot of information without saying a single word and she definitely wasn’t keeping up, but tried her best anyway.

Victoria was close.

“Thing one. Thing two. Afternoon.”

Max frowned a little bit.

Steph rubbed at Max’s shoulder again.

Max didn’t realize quite when this touch became so normalized she didn’t even notice it, but it was calmly reassuring either way.

She could at least stay looking at Victoria, even when she sounded like she always did.

“Hey there, Vicky.”

Max blinked.

Steph was being _way_ too playful and Victoria would _definitely_ -

Victoria visibly flinched, and looked to Steph with a frown.

“I _told_ you, my name is ---”

Steph raised her hands in surrender, with her palms exposed.

Victoria sighed, and shook her head slightly.

 “I know. ‘Vicky’ makes you think of stuff. Sorry, Victoria. Stuck watching the lovebirds again?”

Both Victoria and Steph looked back to Warren and Nathan –

Max suddenly realized they looked like they were making out with a bit of a blush –

Victoria and Steph looked to one another, though Victoria spared Max a momentary look to observe her blush.

“Something like that. I swear Nathan chose him to _intentionally_ annoy me or something.”

Max decided to not voice her surprise at the two of them being together to avoid making it seem like she obviously didn’t fit in this social setting, with Steph’s friends.

But –

Wait –

Warren was Nathan’s boyfriend? Or partner or whatever?

Then why would seeing Steph’s arm around Max make him jealous?

Max looked sidelong to Steph while they continued to talk.

“Need to be rescued?”

Victoria sighed wearily, and looked down to the floor.

She carefully looked back up to Steph.

“You know I can’t do that.”

Her voice came out a little miserable, and Max didn’t understand it at all.

Steph just shrugged.

“Sure you can. I was just going back to Max’s dorm with her. You could tag along. Just chill for a bit.”

Max blinked.

Did Steph suddenly just volunteer Max’s room without even asking?

Victoria pursed her lips.

Steph looked back to Max, and smiled cheesily.

“Right, Max? You don’t mind if Vicky ---”

“--- _Victoria_ \---”

“--- Right-right. You don’t mind if _Victoria_ tags along, do you?”

Max blinked.

Christ, she came to this whole movie thing to avoid decisions like this, and here was yet another one.

Max wasn’t sure she really wanted Victoria in her room if she was going to be mean but –

Victoria seemed to be gentle, for now. Maybe Steph inspired that out of her, somehow.

Did Steph have some kind of relationship with Victoria, somehow?

Max suddenly remembered the very faint praise she gave to Steph all of that time ago – even though that was only a day or two ago it felt like an eternity now with how crazy her days had been.

Victoria doesn’t say just _anyone_ was ‘ _alright’_.

“Is she just going to –”

Steph elbowed Victoria,

“—Shh. Give her a minute.”

Oh. Right.

Max blushed when she realized she was just doing that thinking thing again instead of talking, like normal people did.

She had to make another decision.

 

###### Decisions

This is an interactive story. It's recommended you navigate the fic through these links instead of AO3's navigation system.

[< Choose last decision again](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12061389/chapters/27857616#feedback)

[> Accept Victoria tagging along](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12061389/chapters/28070139#chapters)

~~> Reject Victoria tagging along~~ _(coming soon)_


	11. Chapter 11

### Accept Victoria

##### Day 2, Night, Dork Club Route

Max decided Victoria could tag along.

She still felt a little guilty about standing her up, and maybe some time in her room would make the both of them feel better about their relationship.

Or at least maybe Max would understand her a bit better.

“Yeah, sure. I don’t mind.”

Max didn’t miss the moment of genuine surprise on Victoria’s face, even if she was quick to hide it.

Victoria wasn’t as good as hiding the slight smile as she looked away from the two and to the floor, though.

Steph smiled wider, and looked back to Victoria.

“See! Everything’s fine. Screw Nathan. Let’s chill for a bit.”

Victoria closed her eyes and exhaled harshly.

She took a few moments to consider, then slowly looked up to the two of them, but mostly to Steph.

Her face was so gentle in a way Max had almost never seen – really only in that prior conversation in Max’s room when they talked about Rachel.

The slight smile was so endearing coming from Victoria, somehow.

“Alright. Fine. I can do that, I _suppose_.”

Despite the content of her words, Victoria’s tone was completely detached and unrelated. She _sounded_ slightly content, maybe even a bit happy or relieved, but the words were the same old same old.

Max found herself smiling anyway, just because it seemed like Victoria was genuinely happy and it was so rare to see her like that.

“Of course you can! Now let’s go.”

Steph started walking off, but neither Max nor Victoria immediately took after her.

Victoria hesitated for a few seconds when she realized Max was just staring at her, and leveled out her face a bit.

She uncrossed one of her hands to gesture towards towards Steph.

“After you.”

Max blinked, but nodded, and decided she’d have more time to observe this different version of Victoria so long as Steph was around. No need to continue making things awkward like she always did.

Max started walking after Steph, and Victoria after Max.

The trio was quiet until they made it outside.

It was late enough that the school’s sprinkler system was on.

The movie must have been longer than Max realized – it was totally dark, now.

So much for getting homework done.

She probably only had another hour or two of being awake.

“Hey Maxxie?”

_Maxxie._

A pet name, Christ.

Max looked forward to Steph, since she’d been looking down at the grass, really to anywhere else, while they were walking.

“Max. My name is Max.”

The response came so automatically, almost tiredly. She must have corrected people a thousand times on what her name was, even if she knew the pet name was intentionally not her preferred name.

Victoria made an amused scoff.

Steph just smiled pleasantly.

“Of course, sorry, Max. Anyway, you want to talk about yourself now a bit? Or maybe how _you_ met and know Chloe?”

Max would have easily talked about some of that stuff if it was just Steph around.

But she was cognizant of the fact Victoria was _right_ there, and would probably judge the shit out of her for anything she said.

“Um … there’s not really much to say about me. I’m not that … interesting or anything.”

As if on cue, Victoria scoffed again.

“Such bullshit. Drop the act already, hipster.”

Max sighed.

 _This_ is the reason she had to even consider if Victoria could tag along.

She felt a little self-conscious all of the sudden, and started to rub at her own arm.

Steph suddenly paused at Victoria’s words.

Max damn near collided with her, but had just enough presence of mind and attention to her surroundings to stop before then.

Steph turned around.

Max blinked, but Steph wasn’t looking at her.

She was looking at Victoria, with a little frown, too.

Max followed her eyes, but Victoria wasn’t looking back at Steph.

She had her arms crossed like she usually did, at least.

“Victoria.”

Steph had this frustrated edge to her voice, and crossed her own arms.

Victoria looked up, but smiled pleasantly.

Sarcastically?

Could you smile sarcastically?

It didn’t seem genuine somehow.

“Yes, _Stephie-poo_?”

Another pet name, and Victoria enunciated this one so weirdly.

Kind of like she was talking to an actual dog or something, it was way too playful and over-enunciated.

“Stop it. I didn’t invite you along so you could torture Max.”

Quiet.

Max was relieved Steph realized what was making her uncomfortable, at least.

This night might go awfully if Victoria kept acting like she usually did.

Max looked to Steph, then back to Victoria.

Victoria didn’t say anything, just frowning slightly at the words.

The two remained frozen for a few seconds, and it felt awkward to Max, but eventually Steph sighed, softened the expression on her face, uncrossed her arms, and walked over so stand in front of Victoria.

Victoria’s expression slowly softened too, and was neutral by the time she was right in front of her.

“Just … chill. Max isn’t going to think any less of you if you’re not a total bitch for one afternoon.”

Max blinked only about a billion times at the exchange.

Especially when Victoria just closed her eyes and exhaled a soft sigh.

What the hell did Max have to do all of this?

Was it _Max_ the one who brought out weird things in Victoria, somehow, and not Steph bringing out the quieter side?

That was an odd thought.

“Fine. Whatever.”

Victoria did that thing again where her words were trying to sound tough and composed, but the fragility of her voice belied more information than she wanted to let on.

Steph smiled at this, and slowly backed up to stand in front of Max.

Max just silently watched her.

“And Max? Try not to take it personally if Victoria gets bitchy. Think of her like … a cat. Or something. You get claws even when the cat wants affection, sometimes.”

Max blinked, and spared a look over to Victoria.

Victoria huffed indignantly, but didn’t reject this description of herself, just looking off to some tree or grass somewhere.

Did Victoria herself agree with it? Or did she just not care enough to contradict it?

Max looked back to Steph and smiled gently.

“Um. Okay. I like cats. I think I can do that …”

Steph giggled, and even Victoria made an amused sound.

Steph looked back to Victoria for just a few seconds, and Victoria stepped a bit closer behind Max so the three of them were closer together overall, more intimate, as Steph turned around and the trio started walking again.

“So, ah …”

Max considered what to say only after she opened her mouth to speak.

What _was_ there really, to say about her?

Maybe she could start with Chloe.

“Chloe and I met a very long time ago. So long ago that I … don’t even really remember my childhood before her … she’s just always been there, somehow, someway …”

Steph made a thoughtful sound.

“Chloe’s said something to that effect too. I bet you two were really cute together.”

Cute.

Victoria hummed flatly, and Max just shrugged.

“Well, Chloe’s parents sure didn’t think so. We were like … little demons.”

Steph laughed.

“Really.”

Max nodded, and felt a little more comfortable talking about this now that Victoria was seeming to contain herself.

“Yeah. Chloe always had these … really stupid, but fun, ideas. I knew that they were, um, stupid, and I told her that, but we’d still always end up doing what she wanted, anyway.”

Steph shook her head a little bit.

“Can’t imagine you getting into trouble.”

Max sighed.

“I’m not … always a loser, or whatever. Just after William died, things got … hard.”

Whoops.

Max didn’t intend to talk about _that_.

Both Victoria and Steph fell deathly silent.

The silence that followed felt really awkward to Max, and she cleared her throat again.

“Um, anyway. Yeah. I was a bit different as a young kid. Less of a loser. I still got in trouble, but Chloe’s parents never got too upset at us for very long. Especially not William. He was so nice …”

Steph nodded quietly, and her voice was gentle when it came out next, at least less playful.

“Chloe always talked so positively about him. I wished I could have met him.”

Max exhaled pleasantly, and nodded.

“He was amazing. I don’t think Chloe has ever been the same without him.”

Max didn’t quite notice that she suddenly spoke without pausing to think every few seconds, but Victoria and Steph certainly did.

“So … why the radio silence? If you were so close.”

Max frowned at this, and looked away from the back of Steph’s head to the ground somewhere.

“Because I’m an asshole? And a terrible friend? I don’t know. Chloe needed me and I just … couldn’t talk to her. I didn’t know what to say, or … anything. What even do you say? Sorry your dad died? Sorry I had to move away? Sorry I’m such an asshole?”

Max could see Steph flinch a bit out of the corner of her eye.

Max sighed, and tried to calm herself down a little bit. She looked back to the back of Steph’s head.

“I don’t know. I don’t have any good reasons. Chloe shouldn’t have forgiven me so easily. I don’t deserve it.”

They pulled up to the steps leading into the girls’ dorms, and Steph stopped to look back to the two of them again.

Victoria had mostly been pretty quiet as Max started to get more brutally honest about everything, but as soon as Steph opened her mouth up to say something, Victoria beat her to the punch.

“At least you’re not some asshole that just bullies people. Or whatever.”

Steph blinked.

Max blinked.

Max carefully turned around to face Victoria.

“What?”

Victoria didn’t keep eye contact with her, though, like most of the night.

She just sighed wearily, shook her head a bit, and raised a hand to rub at her temples while looking at the ground somewhere.

“You heard me, hipster. At least all you did was ignore someone. I’ve actively made my friends’ lives _worse_ and they still want to spend time with me for some … stupid fucking reason.”

Max blinked again.

Was that self-resentment?

It sure sounded like it.

Steph sighed.

She raised her hands up and had them loosely in front of her chest with her palms facing the two while she spoke.

“Look, my gay children, can we stop with the self-hatred for a bit? You’re both amazing women and anyone would be lucky to be your friend.”

Victoria scoffed.

Max frowned just a little bit, and looked back to Steph.

It wasn’t like she was upset at herself for _no_ reason.

She was just genuinely an asshole to Chloe for a while, and there was no escaping that.

It was always in the back of her mind.

Steph seemed to realize she’d lost both of them, and deflated a little bit.

“I’m serious. Come on. Let’s just make it to Max’s room.”

Neither of them were convinced, but decided it would be better to have this conversation in Max’s room, anyway, if it was mostly private outside so late.

The rest of the trip was quiet. Just the sounds of their shoes and Victoria’s heels.

 

When finished their contemplative journey, Max opened her door and gestured for them to go inside.

Max turned on the lights to her room.

Steph immediately flopped down length-wise on Max’s couch in that careless way she and Chloe always did.

Victoria rolled her eyes and carefully perched herself down on the corner of Max’s bed.

Max should have probably taken her computer chair, but she decided to sit down on her bed as well, only a little ways away from Victoria.

Steph looked up to the two of them with her knees idly swaying and her arms flopped up above her, hands loosely connected in a most lazy of postures.

Victoria was essentially the exact opposite, with a carefully-contained sitting posture and tightly-controlled arm crossing. She barely even turned her head much to avoid it poking too much outside of her private space.

Max was somewhere in the middle, leaning over and resting her palms lazily on the edge of the bed with most of the weight on there, and her feet very gently kicking back and forth in the silence.

“So. We’re here. Hanging out. _Fun._ ”

Victoria spoke first, and Steph scoffed lazily.

“It’d be more fun if you weren’t such a tight-ass. C’mon. Kick off your shoes … um, literally and metaphorically.”

Victoria just rolled her eyes at this, but Max hummed thoughtfully.

Steph seemed to at least follow her own advice by sitting up enough to untie her chucks and let them stay under Max’s couch, just underneath where she was.

Max took off her shoes next, but respectfully put them near her closet, since that’s where she usually put them, anyway.

When she sat back down, Max looked meaningfully to Victoria, who just impatiently tapped at her own arms with her fingers.

But she didn’t deal with the expecting stares of both Max and Steph well, and with her own little sigh, she unstrapped her shoes as well and took them off.

“Yeah, there you go. Now if only you had any hair, I could tell you to let that down, too.”

Max couldn’t help but giggle at this, and Victoria rolled her eyes yet again.

“Eat me, Steph.”

Steph just hummed pleasantly and melted more into the couch, since she’d been sitting all of this time. Her arms came to rest along the couch’s top, as if she intended to take up as much space as humanly possible, with one of her legs lazily crossed loosely over the other.

“Can’t anymore, Vicky --- … toria.”

Victoria huffed, but had a slight blush on her cheeks.

Max blinked.

Okay, _that_ was too much.

Sex jokes? That made Victoria _blush_ , no less?

She _had_ to know what was going on between them, now.

“So did you two have a relationship or something?”

Victoria snapped into looking at Max first and boy her eyes were _furious_ for a few seconds but she seemed to remember herself and just melted a bit, looking down to the space between the two of them and softening her face.

It seemed she thought better of her gut response.

She uncrossed her arms and rested her hands on the edge of the bed.

“Something like that.”

Her voice came out miserably flat, and she looked back off to one of Max’s walls.

Max blinked only about a million times.

Steph giggled.

Max looked past Victoria to Steph, hoping her pleading look was enough to get some elaboration.

“We didn’t really date or anything, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

Victoria scoffed.

“Certainly not.”

Steph giggled again.

“But I showed up at her door one day with an anime DVD that I just knew she liked and she didn’t turn me down.”

Victoria shook her head, looking back to Max.

“I don’t like anime.”

Steph scooted over to the edge of the couch so she was closer to the two of them.

“Oh but she does. She _so_ does it’s not even funny. It’s even worse than Chloe and her sci-fi stuff.”

Victoria huffed, and looked to Steph, probably to glare at her.

But Max noticed she didn’t contradict her a second time, and it made her think.

Victoria liked anime?

What else did she like that Max also liked, and didn’t tell her about?

It made Max really curious to see glimpses here and there like that.

Steph continued.

“Things were … a little complicated past that. Victoria was ‘straight’, but in the same way spaghetti is, anyway.”

Max blinked.

“In the same say spaghetti is?”

Steph got this ridiculous shit-eating grin on her face.

“Spaghetti is straight until you get it wet.”

Max couldn’t help but a small laugh at this, even if mostly from how proud Steph seemed of the comment.

Victoria was less amused, though.

She groaned in a pained way, and slapped over at Steph thoughtlessly.

“Ow!”

Steph rubbed at the spot just slapped.

Victoria hardened her look.

“Hush. If you’re going to be _that_ disgusting, at least let me tell it.”

Victoria looked back over to Max.

“We had sex. Once. Steph helped me to figure out I wasn’t straight. But then she fancied herself some kind of … ‘Victoria whisperer’, and I cut it off.”

Steph sighed.

“She means Rachel hit on me once and she had a nuclear melt down when I tried to convince her it wasn’t the end of the world.”

Victoria shook her head.

“Whatever. Point is, we had our disagreements.”

 

Wow.

A quiet fell in the room while Max tried to let it all sink in, but it was quite a lot at once.

Steph and Victoria were a thing, at some point.

And apparently Rachel got between them? Is that something Rachel did often?

It felt weird that she was trusted with this information, but maybe it wasn’t that private to them?

Or maybe this is just what it felt like to have friends.

Max was happy Warren didn’t want to talk about this kind of stuff, if this is what friends do.

Victoria sighed and frowned slightly.

“Don’t act like you’re _so_ surprised, Caulfield.”

Max blinked and shook her own head slightly.

She really needed to get better at thinking too obviously when she should be talking.

“Um, no-no, not that … Just not used to people talking to me about this kind of stuff.”

Steph giggled, and Victoria rolled her eyes. But expression flattened out, at least.

“If you’re going to be Steph’s friend, she’s going to tell you everything anyway.”

It was Steph’s turn to roll her eyes.

“Victoria means she trusts you enough to talk about this stuff.”

Victoria suddenly huffed and snapped her face to glaring back at Steph.

“Stop that.”

Her voice had largely been more relaxed and less, well, bitchy sounding for most of the night, but the old Victoria voice Max was quite familiar with suddenly came back and hit them both in the face.

She even crossed her arms again.

Steph frowned, but took her a second or two to respond.

“Stop what?”

Victoria’s frown deepened.

“That. ' _Translating_ ' for me. It’s so _freaking_ annoying. Like you know everything I’m thinking --- _don’t_ \---”

Steph opened her mouth -

This was getting out of control -

Max cleared her throat.

“Hey, can we like … not? Just chill? Like friends? Or something?”

The two of them looked to Max.

At least it was easy to figure out why they didn’t last if that’s all it took for them to start bickering at one another.

For a few seconds, they both just stared at Max, and the quiet wasn't comfortable on any of them.

Victoria eventually sighed, and she looked away from Max to the floor somewhere.

She uncrossed her arms again and placed her palms back on the edge of the bed.

She didn't say anything, though, just seeming to quietly accept Max's proposition.

Wow.

Did Max just calm  _Victoria_ down? Victoria?

Steph eventually deflated a bit herself, with a little groan.

“Sorry, Max.”

Quiet.

The silence was still pretty awkward, but at least the temperature of the room went back down.

Max wondered why Steph invited Victoria over if they still had these obvious issues to work through.

Was she not thinking? Did she want to be around Victoria anyway? Did she think Max could somehow help?

Was that going to be Max's job in Steph's social circle? The concerned mom, stopping slap fights?

And Victoria too, acting so gentle. For her, anyway.

Is this how she was around people she slept with? Or was Steph just unique? Was Max unique, for that matter?

She certainly hadn't seen Victoria on any dates ...

And that earlier outburst of self-resentment? 

Max related way too hard to feeling like she didn't deserve her friends.

Is that why Victoria shared? Or overshared? Whatever this was that they were doing?

Seeing different sides of Victoria inspired Max's curiosity, again. Could she be someone that inspires more of this gentleness out of her? 

 

Max suddenly yawned, and that shifted the direction of her thoughts.

Ugh.

It felt like it was getting late, and she still hadn’t made any headway on that homework.

Not that she was complaining how this evening turned out …

But she did have to actually do it at some point.

“Um guys, I really should do my homework.”

Victoria looked up to Max with a little frown.

Steph looked at her, too, though her expression was neutral.

Victoria opened her mouth to say something first, but Steph –

“Oh, right, sorry, Max. I totally offered to help you and then we just blabbed.”

Victoria closed her mouth and looked over to Steph with a little frown.

Steph smiled slightly and continued.

“What is the homework, anyway?”

Max shrugged.

“Some chemistry stuff, and then some photography stuff.”

Steph opened her mouth, and her expression slowly died.

Victoria made an amused scoff and looked back to Max.

“Can’t believe you haven’t finished your photography project yet, Max …”

Max was expecting Victoria to be judgmental or annoyed – and maybe she was – but her tone didn’t match for that. Victoria’s voice came out gentle, maybe even a little playful.

It made Max smile gently, at least.

“Yeah, I tend to just, put stuff off, until I can’t, anymore.”

She then shrugged,

“And I really can’t, anymore. This is due like, tomorrow.”

Steph sighed.

“Well. Can’t help you with either of those, really. Chemistry was always Chloe’s strong suit. Proooooobably should have asked what it was before I offered to help.”

Max frowned a little at this. It seemed more like the homework was an excuse to just get in her room, now - but for what? -

Victoria cleared her throat.

“I can help Max with her photography stuff.”

Max _swore_ Victoria smiled slightly after she said this, but if she did, it disappeared as quickly as it came.

It kept Max smiling either way since she really liked Victoria when she wasn’t being so damn mean all of the time.

“Really?”

Max realized as it was coming out that this was silly to doubt, since Victoria had already offered to help her with her project once before.

But the idea was still so novel and odd to Max that shouldn't help it.

Victoria wanted to work on her project. With her. Like actively working with her. On the same project.

Victoria rolled her eyes and shook her head slightly.

“No, I was being sarcastic. _Yes of course,_ I can help you.”

Once again, she didn’t sound annoyed, even if her words could easily be read like that.

It actually sounded like Victoria was -

Playful.

This was Victoria when she was being playful, Max suddenly realized.

That re-contextualized a lot.

Steph hummed thoughtfully.

“Sounds cute. Well, you can do that, or I can call up Chloe and we can knock out your chemistry stuff.”

Max looked past Victoria to Steph.

That word again.

And damn, another choice.

Max kinda wanted to do both, but it was getting too late for that.

She really didn’t want to reject Victoria again, either, especially so soon after the last time she did.

But she didn’t want to reject Steph, either? She’d been so nice and fun, tonight.

And a group call with Chloe sounded ... awesome.

Ugh.

Max was tired of choosing someone over someone else.

But what could she do?

 

###### Decisions

This is an interactive story. It's recommended you navigate the fic through these links instead of AO3's navigation system.

[< Choose last decision again](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12061389/chapters/28004061#feedback)

~~> Do photography homework with Victoria~~ _(coming soon)_

 ~~> Do chemistry homework with Steph and Chloe~~ _(coming soon)_

 ~~> Ask if both is somehow possible~~ _(coming soon)_


	12. Chapter 12

### Wake up next to Chloe

##### Day 6, Morning, Freak Out route

Max woke up very gently to a very reassuring sight.

A completely out-of-it Chloe, dead asleep.

Though Max knew they originally fell asleep together in an embrace, the duration of the night had at some point separated their touch.

Chloe’s hands were to herself, one resting on her pillow up by her face, the other draped lazily by her belly.

And she was so close.

So desperately close.

So desperately close Max could feel every gentle and slight exhale from her sleeping body.

She could see the very subtle ways her body rose and fell with the same slight exhales.

Chloe’s mouth was gaping, slightly, and Max’s mind immediately started to wonder about what she was dreaming about.

Was it selfish to want Chloe to dream about her?

Max had certainly dreamed about Chloe.

Especially after last night.

Despite knowing her preferences very well, Max had never been with a woman – or anyone, for that matter – in that way.

She didn’t tell Chloe, but Chloe didn’t seem to notice – and if she did, she didn’t seem to mind.

While irrelevant trivia now, there was just something that felt cosmically right about her first crush and first love being able to give that experience to her for the first time.

A neat little continuity.

Christ, Max had been awake for a few minutes now and she only just now had the self-awareness that very nearly every single thought was either about Chloe or about last night _with_ Chloe.

Rachel’s kiss was somewhere in there, too, but it felt more distant.

Like it happened weeks ago, instead of just last night.

Chloe stirred, yawned, and stretched like some kind of cat with her back arching and arms protruding far and wide until her elbows made a slight noise and her muscles were satisfied.

They were so close that even this slight movement of her back caused her body to come into contact with Max’s, not that either were complaining.

One of Chloe’s arms slyly came forward to wrap lazily around Max as her arms retracted from the stretch, and Max was tugged into more positive contact with Chloe’s front as the arm’s grip tightened.

Chloe placed a little kiss on Max’s forehead before smiling gently, sighing warmly, and lazily melting back against the bed.

Max watched the whole show – and it was a show, with Chloe being naked – completely silent, only smiling warmly.

She was more than happy to soak up Chloe kisses, though.

But the forehead felt too passive for what they were, now.

Max inched her face a bit more forward until she could kiss directly at Chloe’s lips, and closed her eyes.

This wasn’t a fast or passionate kiss – it was slow, tired, and careful. Gentle.

It only lasted a few seconds, but it felt meaningful.

Max could kiss Chloe on the lips whenever she wanted to, now.

Chloe could kiss Max on the lips whenever she wanted to, now.

Such a queer thought earlier, yet so normal now.

One night really could change a whole lot.

Chloe made a content sighing sound after the kiss broke away, and smiled lazily.

She barely even opened her eyes while looking at Max.

“Mmmm, big romantic puppy, aren’t you?”

Max made an amused exhale and rested her face somewhere on Chloe’s shoulders and collarbones.

She placed little kisses here and there at whatever skin was convenient and close enough.

“Yeah.”

The thought that Chloe wasn’t also a hopeless romantic didn’t even begin to enter into Max’s mind.

She knew Chloe.

Chloe made a thoughtful sound, and moved one of her hands into playing along the top of Max’s hair gently, while the other stayed idly rubbing at her back.

The embrace was very warm – too warm, even, but that was okay, because Chloe could make Max however hot she wanted.

“That’s good. I expect a nice big romantic-ass dinner next time.”

Chloe still sounded playful, and Max could imagine the very particulars of her grin, since she’d already seen it so many hundreds of times.

Max repeated her amused sound.

“Only if it’s candle-lit.”

Chloe hummed thoughtfully.

“With incense burning and a jazz trio wasting the night away in the background.”

Max closed her eyes to visualize the scene, and she liked what she was hearing.

Probably too rich for their blood, but, still, the thought was nice. Maybe some day.

“And a good steak.”

Chloe nodded, barely, since Max was _right there_ and she didn’t want to disrupt her much,

“And some wine. Red? White?”

Max smiled, but shook her head barely.

“I don’t drink …”

Chloe scoffed.

“You drunk last night.”

Max groaned and melted more against the bed.

“Was it that obvious?”

Chloe had herself a little laugh and patted at Max’s back.

“Was it that obvious? Uh, hella yes? You asked me if I could … what was it, _help you sleep_?”

Max groaned again and raised her own hands up to cover her face from the embarrassment.

Chloe wasn’t done, though.

“Then in the truck you were all like –“

Her voice pitched up in an obvious mockery of Max’s,

“- Oh no! What we will do with the truck stopped my dearest Chloe?”

Max broke one of her hands away to playfully bat at some part of Chloe’s chest thoughtlessly.

“Stop. Stop it. I did _not_ say that.”

Max was pretty sure it didn’t come out like _that_ , anyway.

Chloe laughed, but did indeed stop teasing Max about this.

For now, anyway.

“It was only a drink. Or two. I forget if it was one or not. I wasn’t that bad.”

Chloe just hummed thoughtfully.

“But you still drank. So some wine should be fine.”

Max sighed.

“I don’t really want to drink? It was just a night club and Rachel ---”

Max could feel Chloe’s body tense up _immediately_ and she realized this might have been a bad direction to take the conversation only after Chloe emitted a harsh breath into her hair.

“ --- … said it was, um, different … there … I guess.”

Her voice came out suddenly unsure of itself, like Max was around some stranger, and not her most trusted friend.

Girlfriend?

Were they girlfriends now?

Focus, Max.

“Rachel.”

Chloe’s voice was bled painfully dry of the playfulness Max was so accustomed and so endeared to.

It came out so cold and distant it almost put a shiver down Max’s spine.

For good measure, Max wiggled around a little bit and readjusted her position to be as close to Chloe’s body as she could.

One of her hands went to Chloe’s side, since that was a thing she could do now and goddamn it if she didn’t want to do it more often.

Max carefully pulled herself out of her perch on Chloe’s shoulder area though to peer at her expression.

Chloe wasn’t even looking at her anymore, and she had a slight frown on her face.

She of course noticed Max moving, and looked back down to her.

She smiled, slightly, but it didn’t last and she just shook her head with a groan.

“Max … honestly, you’re too good for Rachel. Please just – whatever we are now – can you just avoid her? For both of our sanity?”

Max frowned before she could help it, and of course Chloe noticed _that._

“Chloe …”

Max had some self-awareness, here. Rachel _did_ try and kiss her … but Max kissed her right back. Chloe was probably better off not knowing about that, but isn’t that the same problem she had with Rachel? A lack of honesty about what they were?

But …

“Max …”

Chloe looked so helpless, here.

Her eyes were definitely pleading, and she bit at her bottom lip slightly.

This was clearly tremendously burdening her.

Was this mess between Rachel and Chloe something she could fix?

Or even want to?

Would it be better off if she just let Chloe have her way on this to make her happy?

Max probably shouldn’t be hanging around Rachel if she was the kind to randomly dare people to kiss … especially if Chloe _was_ Max’s girlfriend, now.

But she was so useful and kind and caring.

Max wasn’t sure if she’d even have the bravery to reconnect with Chloe _at all_ without her, let alone … all of this. Dancing, drinking, making moves on her … having sex.

That wasn’t what the Max of a week ago could do. That was certainly Rachel’s influence on her, and it felt positive. It felt like Rachel was balancing her out, somewhat, and giving her the wisdom from experience she lacked to make better life decisions.

Did she want to throw that away just to make Chloe happy?

Damnit, Chloe looked so needy on this, too. Max really didn’t want to upset her …

 

###### Decisions

This is an interactive story. It's recommended you navigate the fic through these links instead of AO3's navigation system.

[< Choose last decision again](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12061389/chapters/27559641#feedback)

[> Defend Rachel](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12061389/chapters/28161666#chapters)

~~> Accept Chloe's request~~ _(coming soon)_


	13. Chapter 13

### Defend Rachel

##### Day 6, Freak Out Route

“Chloe, I’m sorry, but … Rachel is a part of my life, now.”

It was the truth. The honesty.

Maybe it would be hard on Chloe – and her immediate reaction of groaning, closing her eyes, and looking up definitely seemed to indicate it was landing hard – but Chloe needed to hear it.

For both of their sanity.

“Max, Rachel is –“

Chloe started to look back down, but Max silenced her with an impulsive kiss on the lips.

Chloe made an unhappy grunting noise, but wasn’t about to tell Max to shove off or anything, and allowed the kiss to continue.

When it ended, Max tried to shuffle her way up the bed so their heads were about level with one another, and brought the hand that had been on her side to her cheek.

A very Rachel move, but maybe this is what Max always wanted to be, anyway.

More assured.

“- a good friend, who kicked my ass into not only going over to your house and making amends, but also knew how to comfort me when I … broke down, like some kind of useless idiot.”

Chloe blinked in consideration, and went quiet.

Max kept playing with her cheek, and decided she liked the texture of Chloe’s cheek, even if she incidentally rubbed off a little foundation that still somehow hadn’t been sweat off.

“Rachel’s … a little shifty, but … she seems like a genuinely good friend for me to have. Can you please try and bury whatever is between the two of you? For me?”

Chloe groaned painfully and made a low whining sound, like some kind of kid who was just refused candy and needed to vent their frustration vocally.

Her eyes went away from Max while she considered further.

Max bit her own lip and really genuinely honestly hoped this would work, and she wasn’t fucking up her relationship with Chloe.

But it just felt wrong to ignore everything Rachel had done for her.

It felt like entirely too long, but her eyes went back to Max eventually, and they were wavering.

They only kept eye contact for a few seconds, before Chloe’s went down to Max’s body, though probably not to stare or ogle.

Not that Max was offended either way, just, timing.

Chloe did this for another few seconds, still clearly thinking in a painfully slow manner – is this what Max looked like when she thought? – before coming back up to Max’s eyes, again.

She raised one of her hands to find the Max hand that was on her cheek and brought it down, slightly, to about neck line.

Their fingers entangled, and Chloe tightly squeezed the hand.

Max squeezed right back, and immediately started running her thumb along Chloe’s finger and hand after the squeezing ended.

“Okay … Rachel worries me but ... I know you’re no Rachel, Max.”

This felt genuine, but the guilt about kissing Rachel suddenly became crushing.

Max was no Rachel, but had no troubles kissing girls behind Chloe’s back and acting exactly like her.

Ugh.

No, this –

This had to come out.

Max shook her head, slightly, with a deep sigh.

“Chloe, there’s … something I need to tell you.”

Of course, at no point in the history of ever was this sentence not dread-inducing, and Max could see it heavy on Chloe’s face even before she finished talking.

The sentence in particular Max chose to follow up on only further added to the worry.

“Um … what?”

Chloe didn’t release the hand, though. She squeezed again. Max squeezed right back.

Christ this was painful to see Chloe so worried like that.

“Rachel … tried to kiss me.”

Chloe flinched, but kept holding the hand. She slowly closed her eyes.

Max bit her own lip again.

That was a measured response, but not a positive one.

“Oh. Did you um … ?”

Chloe sounded drained.

Max sighed.

“Yes, Chloe, I did. I kissed her back.”

That felt nice to get off her chest, at least. Max continued.

“I don’t know why. It was just … stupid and impulsive but –“

She really wanted to kiss Chloe right now, but decided that might be vaguely manipulative instead of assuring, and just squeezed Chloe’s hand again.

She waited until Chloe squeezed back before she continued.

“- That’s how I know how she feels about me. Afterwards, I asked her _what the shit_ , and she plainly told me she knew where my heart was … with you.”

Chloe looked back down to Max’s body.

It took her a few moments to respond.

“Is it?”

And her voice was _so_ impossibly fragile that –

Max couldn’t help it anymore, and kissed Chloe again.

It was forceful, it was passionate, it was how she always wanted to kiss Chloe, and she even had this convenient hand to squeeze every little fiber of life out of while she did it.

She could feel Chloe’s anxieties melt out of her body with this very affectionate assurance.

When she pulled away from this kiss, ready to continue –

Chloe pushed right back inwards, and turned the kiss into a brief, but meaningful make out session.

Each little kiss was more powerful than the last, and squeeze of the hand more life-draining than the one before it.

Max felt a little dizzy – and her hand a little sore – afterwards, but it was okay. Chloe was well within her rights to make Max dizzy and sore.

“Yes. It is, Chloe. I promise you I’ll be totally honest about whatever Rachel does or tries or --- what any other woman does, for that matter, and I’ll --- I’ll ---”

Max didn’t know what to say, exactly, anymore, and Chloe just made an amused chuckle and kissed at Max again, briefly, to silence her.

Max closed her eyes and sighed pleasantly at this.

“Okay, Max. I believe you. If you had the guts to tell me about that kiss… I’m sure you’ll tell me about whatever else.”

Chloe’s tone suddenly became gentle, again.

“Just be careful around her, okay? I don’t want to lose you, Max. Not for Rachel, not for … _whatever_ this shitty town has to offer, not for nothing.”

Max smiled.

She was quiet, for a few seconds.

“Does this mean I’m your girlfriend now, Chloe?”

Chloe laughed.

“You _better_ call me your girlfriend, dude.”

She hesitated for a bit.

“You _better_ call me your girlfriend, _babe_.”

Max just smiled, smiled, smiled.

 

## Epilogue

 

Several weeks later, Max laid on her bed, calmly smoking a joint, just considering everything.

If only the Max from some months ago could see her now.

What would she say?

Chloe groaned and lazily leaned her face over for a little peck on Max’s cheek, and then a meaningful look towards the joint.

She didn’t even have to ask – Max offered it for her to take a hit with a smile.

“Thanks, babe.”

Max watched Chloe take a hit, really watched her – watched the way her eyes examined it, the way her lips puckered for it, the way her face processed the inhale of the smoke – every little detail about Chloe was so precious to Max, now.

There was a knocking on Max’s dorm door and the two of them groaned quietly.

Chloe took the joint and placed it into an ashtray by the bed while Max carefully peeled herself from her most perfectly comfortable of positions nestled into her girlfriend and ambled over to the door.

She opened it, and Victoria was there.

Max frowned a little bit before she could help it, but made her face more neutral after that.

She put her hand on the doorframe to unconsciously prevent Victoria from just barging in past her.

Victoria was not her friend.

Whatever feelings they had died painfully when Max asserted her friendship with Rachel and her relationship with Chloe – two people Victoria was especially unfond of.

So her being here at all was suspicious.

Victoria had her arms crossed and was looking down the hall furtively, lest someone see her see her associating with Max.

“Caulfield. You smell of weed.”

Victoria briefly looked up and down Max’s attire.

That had changed, too.

Rachel’s outfit from the night out in the club was surprisingly comfortable and easy to wear – Max borrowed a few more similar sets, though she wore her own graphic tees underneath the flannel instead of the tanks.

It didn’t always work amazingly, but Chloe seemed to like it.

Max shrugged.

“Smoking some with my girlfriend. No news there.”

The words came out breezily and easily, and Max looked her squarely in the eye.

From everything Rachel told her about Victoria, Max almost felt a little pity.

Almost.

“Right … um.”

Victoria sighed painfully, and broke a hand away from its habitual crossing to rub at the back of her neck, while Victoria briefly looked to the ceiling.

“Can we just talk? For a bit?”

Max blinked.

Victoria looked back down, past Max briefly to Chloe still on the bed, then back to Max again,

“ _Alone_?”

She then gestured with her head and a slight bob of it back to her dorm.

Max frowned.

Victoria bit her lip.

God damn it.

 _There_ was the pity.

Max pushed herself off of the door frame, sighed, closed the door behind her, and crossed her own arms.

“Okay. I guess.”

Victoria grunted, but calmly turned on her heel and walked to her room.

Max followed her.

She had her hands in her pockets by the time they were standing in her room.

Victoria sat down pleasantly on her bed.

Max sat down on her couch.

“So …?”

Max carefully looked to Victoria.

Victoria wasn’t looking at Max, but rather to the floor.

She sighed.

“I just … wanted to apologize.”

Max blinked.

“For what, exactly?”

Victoria had a lot to apologize for. Specifics would be nice.

Victoria groaned and raised a hand up to rub at her temples.

“Everything. But, _specifically,_ being a cold bitch to you when you became Rachel’s friend.”

Max hummed pleasantly.

At least Victoria was self-aware.

Though that was … new.

“I see … and what inspired this sudden change of heart?”

Victoria was quiet for a little while.

“Taylor.”

Oh.

That actually made … perfect sense.

Max had heard the rumors they were together, again.

She wouldn’t have even have known they were ever together without Rachel’s casual gossiping.

“Well,”

Max breathed in deeply,

“I’m not sure I can just … forgive you, after months of this.”

Honesty was Max’s number one policy, by now. It was just so damn effective, and made her a pleasant contrast to Rachel whenever they hung out with her other friends.

Victoria nodded gloomily.

“I thought as much.”

She crossed her arms again and carefully looked over to Max.

“But I …”

She scoffed, rolled her eyes maybe more at herself than at Max, and shook her head slightly.

“I do still want to work with you on your photography projects. You’re going places, Max.”

Woah.

Max blinked again, but smiled, slightly.

She wouldn’t have believed the gossip from Rachel about how much Taylor was kicking Victoria’s ass into being a better person without seeing it first hand.

“Okay. We can play it by ear. I think you’re going places, too, Victoria … just wish you weren’t so difficult.”

Victoria smiled, and looked back down to the floor.

“Don’t we all.”

Max exhaled, amused at this, even if it wasn’t exactly a joke, but smiled wider.

“But it sounds like you’re working on that? And Taylor’s helping?”

Victoria looked back up to Max and nodded.

Her smile got wider, and her eyes half-lidded thoughtlessly.

“Yeah … Taylor’s the most amazing woman I know. I’ve been nothing but a terrible friend and she’s still just trying to help me after all of this time.”

Max shook her head.

“It’s not about what you were. It’s about what you are.”

Victoria scoffed, and then groaned, and looked away fully from Max to one of her walls.

“Ugh. You even sound like Rachel, now.”

But she didn’t _sound_ disgusted.

Max couldn’t help but still smile, especially since Victoria didn’t directly contradict her.

“I’m sure Taylor thinks she’s lucky to have you, too.”

Victoria scoffed again, even louder this time, but …

She was smiling, afterwards.

It felt good to see Victoria smile.

“Thanks, Max.”

Quiet.

It was a nice silence, while they both considered new information.

Eventually, though, Max stood up, and offered her warmest smile.

“I should get back. The last time Chloe was left unattended my room for this long she rearranged all of the photos in my room into a giant heart.”

Victoria laughed properly, now, and just shook her head.

She stood up and faced Max, smiling properly.

It almost looked weird to see her smile like that, but at least she had the decency to cross her arms like the Victoria Max always knew.

“That sounds adorable.”

Max nodded,

“It was, but … god, it took all day to get them back hung up and everything.”

Victoria exhaled, amused.

“It doesn’t sound like you minded too much.”

Max exhaled calmly.

“Not at all.”

 

\---

 

Max closed her locker, and jumped a little bit when Rachel was just _right there._

“Jesus. Do you have to keep doing that?”

Rachel giggled.

“I’ll stop doing it when you stop responding like that.”

Max groaned, but slung her bag onto her back anyway and started walking towards her next class.

Rachel walked alongside her.

“So hey. I’ve been looking at places … in LA.”

Max made a thoughtful sound.

“Still? I thought you gave up from them being too expensive.”

Rachel nodded.

“A studio or one-one definitely is … but, um.”

Rachel looked away, and Max noticed this immediately since it was quite unusual, before she looked back to Max,

“I’ve been thinking about a three-one? With you and Chloe?”

Max blinked, and stopped walking stupidly.

Rachel stopped walking only slightly later and turned around to face Max.

In the silence, Rachel moved a stand of hair behind her ears.

“You want to live with me and Chloe?”

Max finally recovered enough from the shock to start walking again, and Rachel walked alongside her again.

“Don’t sound _too_ surprised, Max.”

Rachel breathed in heavily before exhaling it deeply and slowly.

“I told you. It’s rare to find people you can trust the world to.”

Max smiled a little bit.

“I think Chloe will have some opinion on the subject but … I’m down.”

She couldn’t honestly think of a better living arrangement. Her long-term girlfriend and her best friend? Together? Making a place they wall wanted to be more tolerable?

Hella yes.

 

\---

 

Chloe was in Max’s room, sleeping in her bed, because she had free time these days and usually chose to spend it around her girlfriend.

After classes were over, Max wanted nothing more than to just throw her bag somewhere, empty her pockets, and cuddle up with Chloe.

Even the looming threat of homework couldn’t compel her up – probably not the best of things, but, still.

Max was so relaxed these days.

As she nestled into Chloe after the conversation with Rachel had been given a little time to marinate in her mind, Max kissed at Chloe’s cheek.

Chloe just grumbled a little bit, waking up lazily as she usually did with an arm stretch.

She kissed Max’s forehead, and Max always had to turn this into a proper lip kiss.

But she didn’t mind, because she got two kisses out of Chloe always instead of one.

Max found one of her girlfriend’s hands to entangle their fingers with while she kissed down from her face to her jawline, then to collar bones, and nestled into there.

“Morning, sleepy head.”

Chloe groaned.

“It’s like fuckin’ four PM, babe.”

Max giggled.

“And yet you’re waking up anyway.”

Chloe huffed into Max’s hair, but didn’t respond.

Usually, they didn’t really need to say anything.

It was enough to just have each other like this.

But, eventually, Max cleared her throat, and squeezed Chloe’s hand.

Chloe squeezed back.

“So um. Rachel handed me this brochure for a three-one apartment in LA the other day …”

Chloe grunted flatly.

“Thought you wanted to move to Seattle after this.”

Max nodded, slightly.

“LA has good colleges, too. And it’s where Rachel wants to be …”

Chloe sighed.

“Well, I’m stuck to you, now, so I guess it’s LA.”

Max frowned a little.

“Chloe. You have a say in this, too.”

Chloe groaned.

“I can find stupid labor jobs anywhere. Yo’ girl’s strong, y’know that?”

She meaningfully squeezed Max’s hand quite forcefully, and although Max rolled her eyes, she squeezed back anyway.

“We’re getting you that GED, though … then you’re enrolling in community college, right?”

Chloe groaned again, and went quiet.

“You sound like Rachel, I swear to god.”

Max broke the hand away from the squeezing to ride it up Chloe’s arm and gently stroke at her cheek.

“I’m being serious, Chloe.”

Chloe sighed, and it took her a few seconds to respond.

Her voice was gentle when she did.

“You really think I can do that, Max?”

Max kissed her way back up Chloe’s neck to kiss her gently on the lips again.

She smiled and rested on the pillow afterwards.

“Yes. Without a doubt.”

Chloe frowned, a little bit,

“I ---”

Max kissed her again, more forcefully this time, and although Chloe made a complaining sound, she wasn’t about to interrupt a kiss from Max.

When Max broke away for the second time, Chloe just quietly shook her head.

“Okay, um … I think LA’s good, then. There’s a lot of … research colleges, and stuff. Maybe I can teach chemistry somewhere.”

Chloe spoke so gently, again, like she always did when she was talking about her future.

It was so impossibly endearing to Max she couldn’t put it to words.

“Chloe, the cool hip teacher.”

Chloe scoffed and rolled her eyes.

“Um, excuse you, babe. Chloe, the _badass punk_ teacher. Imma stroll into the first day of class with my jacket full of band patches and big-ass boots and be like – ‘what’s up, bitches, I’m your teacher now, suck it’ – and the look on everyone’s face and just … _ugh_. I can’t wait.”

Max just smiled, smiled, smiled.

She kissed Chloe again.

Chloe didn’t settle for this, though.

She pushed into Max when she pulled away, and she turned it into making out.

“Mm, Chloe, homework,”

Max offered lamely in one of the brief moments she was spared of Chloe’s lips,

“Mm, Max, Chloe,”

Chloe offered decidedly less lamely in response.

Homework could wait, she supposed.

It was nice to make out with her girlfriend and just think about her future.

It’s almost like her life was together, or something.

What a strange thought.

What a happy thought.

A thought the two of them shared.

###### Your Choices

  * You did not choose anyone
  * You asked Chloe out
  * You asked Rachel for advice
  * You trusted Rachel
  * You woke up next to Chloe
  * You defended Rachel



###### Your Results

  * Max was influenced by Rachel
  * Max is dating Chloe
  * Chloe and Rachel are working through their past troubles by encouragement of Max, but do not trust one another fully
  * Max, Chloe, and Rachel are all going to move in together in LA
  * Max did not do well in school, but is still going to college
  * Chloe will work on getting her GED and degree
  * Taylor convinced Victoria to get over her jealousy of Rachel
  * Victoria is dating Taylor
  * Victoria apologized to Steph and Max for Rachel
  * Rachel is no longer disliked by anyone
  * Rachel did not open up to anyone
  * Victoria and Chloe still dislike one another
  * Steph moved away before Max finished her semester
  * Sam moved away before Max finished her semester



[> Start over?](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12061389/chapters/27315510)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! Let me know how content you are with the length/format/etc in the comments. I might adjust some things as I flesh more routes out.


	14. Chapter 14

### Ask Rachel out

##### Day 2, Freak Out Route

 

Fuck it.

Dating Rachel was a silly, impulsive thought, but.

Her mystique really engaged Max’s curiosity.

And it was something else to have someone calm her anxieties like this.

 

“What do I say if I …”

Rachel blinked and canted her head slightly.

Max almost considered backing down from the curious look, but cleared her throat and shook her head with her eyes closed briefly.

“Um. If I want to date you?”

Max did something she hadn’t done prior, and seemed to have caught _Rachel_ off-guard, instead of Rachel being the one to catch _her_ off-guard.

“I …”

Rachel blinked and hesitated for a second or two with a slightly gaping mouth.

But then she just smiled warmly, like she always had, and laughed gently, earnestly.

“I see you’re putting that honesty to good use.”

Max noticed Rachel was not answering the question, at least immediately, and frowned a little bit.

Rachel frowned with her for a second or two, but just like before, she bounced back to her smile.

“What, don’t give me that look. You’re not being serious, are you?”

Rachel crossed her arms and Max almost backed down, again. Rachel had given her two outs in a few seconds and Max was getting the strong impression she wasn’t interested and she was wasting her time.

But …

_Be honest._

“Y-yeah. I am.”

Rachel made a thoughtful sound, and her smile died off.

She looked down to the ground, and carefully broke a hand away from her crossed arms to push some hair behind her ear.

“And … why would you want to do that? Chloe’s the one crushing on you. You should date her.”

Rachel had a point, and Max honestly didn’t know what she’d be able to say to Chloe if she canceled on her to go on a date with Rachel.

But every little swerve Rachel made like this just engaged Max’s curiosity further.

She decided on honesty, since it was basically her only card now, and it was working well so far.

“I just … I don’t know what I’m going to do about Chloe, Rachel. But you made me feel … better … today. Is it weird that I’d … want to be around that more?”

Rachel pursed her lips and made another thoughtful sound.

She deliberated for a few seconds, then just smiled cheerily.

“No. I suppose not. Alright Maxxie,”

Rachel broke a hand away from her chest to gently pat at Max’s cheeks for the briefest of moments,

“I think I can squeeze in some time for you. I’ll have to check my calendar and get back to you on that, though. _Ciao._ ”

Rachel got up, suddenly, walking backwards while still facing Max to give her a pleasant wave.

Max blinked, but dumbly waved back.

 

Damn.

That was kind of weird.

But it seemed like it went okay?

Max had a feeling not many people could secure a date from Rachel – at least Victoria seemed to think she was too good for Max.

When Rachel was out of sight, Max just sighed and stood up.

She started walking back to Blackwell with her hands in her jeans.

Maybe she was making a mistake, but she could always ask Chloe on a date later on.

She just hoped Chloe would understand.

But maybe just being honest and apologizing would be enough, like it was, just now.

It already felt like Rachel had helped Max a lot in just one afternoon.

What would she do for Max in a week? A month? A year?

Thoughts like these kept swimming around in her mind as she made her way back to her dorm.

Every interaction with Rachel gave her more questions than answers.

She wondered how long she’d have to know Rachel before it was the other way around.

 

 ---

 

Whence back in her room, Max had even _more_ time to think.

Though perhaps that really wasn’t the best thing for her to do.

It was easier in the moment to just ask Rachel out on impulse after Rachel had spent so long calming her down from that episode.

Now, however, Max only had her own thoughts to contend with.

At least Victoria and Chloe didn’t seem to be upset at her for canceling on them both.

Max sighed and checked her phone again.

Still no messages from Rachel.

She said she’s check and let Max know, right?

Been a few hours.

Couldn’t be that long to check a calendar, right?

Max groaned, and she knew she was probably overthinking this, but she just couldn’t help it.

She pulled up her phone’s contacts and considered asking someone for some advice.

Victoria said Rachel was one of Chloe’s friends.

Steph was probably Rachel’s friend, too.

The three of them were hugging each other in that picture Max had.

It felt really weird to be asking Chloe for advice on Rachel, though. Chloe was Max’s best friend and she knew she would help her no matter what it was, but, still … way to rub it in. But Maybe Max could just phrase it like wanting to know more about Rachel, generally?

Steph seemed like an easier choice to make. Max wasn’t as sure her advice would be as solid, but she seemed to know how to kick Chloe’s ass into admitting her feelings. That made her seem like someone Max ought to talk to when girls confused her. She was just nice, too.

Or maybe –

Huh. Rachel’s contact information was somehow in her phone.

That wasn’t there this morning.

When did –

Max sighed wearily.

Rachel sure was smooth. She must have put it in when Max gave her phone over.

Maybe that’s what she wanted? For Max to push her a bit?

No, that’s silly.

Or was it?

Max groaned and flopped her face into her bed’s pillow.

She felt like she needed to do _something_.

But what?

 

###### Decisions

This is an interactive story. It's recommended you navigate the fic through these links instead of AO3's navigation system.

[< Choose last decision again](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12061389/chapters/27432342#feedback)

[> Ask Steph](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12061389/chapters/28362714#chapters)

~~> Ask Chloe~~ _(coming soon)_

 ~~> Ask Rachel~~ _(coming soon)_


	15. Chapter 15

### Ask Steph

##### Day 2, Freak Out Route

Max decided to call Steph.

Max trusted Chloe more than anything in the world, but it felt unfair to burden her with something like that. Not mention just kind of tone-deaf.

Steph seemed chill enough to not mind.

Max called her up.

 

“Hey ummmm, Steph? How are you?”

Steph responded quite breezily.

“Oh, pretty gay, could be gayer.”

Max blinked.

“Gay?”

She heard a content giggle from the other end of the line.

“Yeah, like. I know I could be gayer today but I’m still happy with myself so far.”

Max just blinked again.

“Is that how you … describe yourself?”

Steph just giggled again, and sighed contently.

“Is that _not_ how you describe yourself, Ms. I-have-dates-with-two-girls-on-the-same-afternoon?”

Max groaned, a bit.

“ _Steph._ ”

Steph just made another content sound, more of a humming one.

“Alright, alright. What’s up, sweetie?”

Max pointedly ignored the ‘sweetie’.

“I just … want to know more about Rachel? Victoria said you two were friends.”

Steph made a thoughtful sound.

“Why would you want to know more about her? Did Chloe bring her up or something?”

“No, I ---”

Max cut herself off, and had a small fight with herself about how honest to be.

But Rachel’s words hit her in the face.

 _Be honest_.

“--- I’m um, kinda … setting up a date with her.”

Quiet.

“Ms. I-have-dates-with- _three_ -girls-on-the-same-afternoon ---”

Max groaned,

“--- _Steph_.”

Steph just giggled.

“Okay, okay-okay-okay. Um. Rachel’s …”

Steph made a flat humming sound. Max imagined her looking frumpy.

“Okay, so. When you’re growing up, there’s … certain kinds of girls your parents warn you about.”

Max blinked.

“There are?”

Quiet.

“Well. If you have _awesome_ parents, yeah, but, anyway ---”

Steph cleared her throat,

“--- Certain kinds of girls to be aware of. Rachel’s definitely one of them. I don’t think she’s ever been honest a day of her life and I don’t expect that to change. Be careful around her, Max … she hurt Chloe, and I don’t want her to hurt you too.”

Max gulped.

Not really the kind of thing she wanted to hear.

But it was nice Steph cared for her like that?

Wait –

“Rachel hurt Chloe? I thought they were friends?”

Steph grunted flatly.

“Were. They’re kind of … awkward and tense now. They used to be really close, actually, but I convinced Chloe to break it off when Rachel … more-or-less cheated on her.”

Max blinked only about a million times.

“Rachel cheated on Chloe?”

Steph sighed wearily.

“Kinda. Sorta. It’s … a big gay mess, basically. Chloe thought she was Rachel’s girlfriend, Rachel didn’t think she was Chloe’s girlfriend, Rachel entered into a relationship with someone else and … fireworks.”

Steph imitated the sound of a bottle rocket.

Max just couldn’t stop blinking.

What the hell was she getting herself into?

“So … your advice is not even bother with her, then.”

Steph laughed at this.

“What-no, she’s cute and real fun to be around. If you can get a date out of her, or … _whatever else_ , go for it. Just don’t take it too seriously?”

Max made a thoughtful sound.

“Don’t take it too seriously?”

Steph hummed approvingly.

“Don’t take it too seriously. Don’t think of her like some serious steady girlfriend no matter how many dates you go on. When she lies to you, and she will, don’t take it personally. Just … don’t trust her with your heart, and enjoy the ride.”

Max considered the words, but still frowned.

“You’re awful blasé about her being a cheater and all.”

Quiet.

Steph groaned.

“Rachel’s a good girl, somewhere deep down. I know it. Just … she won’t let anyone see it.”

Steph made a thoughtful humming sound.

“Plus I had like the _biggest_ crush on her when I was a freshman and sophomore so like, yeah. Probably a little biased.”

This got a little giggle out of Max, at least.

“Um, anyway, thanks I guess, for the advice, and all.”

Steph hummed approvingly again.

“Awesome. Remember: just have fun and don’t stress it. Is that all you wanted to talk about?”

It wasn’t, really. Max had so much she wanted to ask about her and Chloe, but … she felt like she had burdened Steph enough.

“Yeah. Goodbye, Steph.”

“Okay! Toodles.”

 

Max hung up, hid her face back into her pillow, and just groaned.

This felt like a huge mistake, now.

Rachel ‘cheated’ on Chloe? She was never honest? She’s the kind of girl parents warn you about?

Ugh.

Maybe Steph was right.

Maybe Max could just enjoy Rachel on a less-serious level.

She already had the date with Victoria pushed back to Friday.

Maybe she could just see how serious Rachel was going to take this whole thing and go with the flow.

She seemed like a useful friend to have, anyway, especially if she could soothe over her anxieties when they got that bad.

Still, what a weird thought.

A person you dated non-seriously.

Was that still romantic?

Would Rachel expect, or even _want_ sex at some point?

Steph seemed so blasé about it, though, like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Maybe this was just Max’s inexperience catching up with her.

Max decided she could at least listen to Steph for a little and try not to worry so much about the whole thing.

Rachel would text her when she wanted to.

Max shouldn’t worry herself into little knots until then.

 

##### Day 4, Freak Out Route

 

It was Thursday when someone was knocking on Max’s door.

Somehow, she was actually able to put the fact she had asked Rachel on a date out of her mind.

Maybe it was Steph’s understanding of the situation that made it easier on Max.

Either way, Max was genuinely surprised when she opened the door and Rachel was there.

“Hey.”

She smiled so warmly and raised a hand up to wave politely before loosely crossing her arms.

Max blinked, and thoughtlessly looked behind herself, as though –

Rachel giggled.

“Of course I’m talking to you. I just knocked on your door.”

Max blinked and blushed.

That sure was stupid of her.

Why was that her gut reaction to seeing Rachel look at her like that?

Still, she looked back and tried to smile and laugh with Rachel, as though it would make this less awkward.

“Um, hi, Rachel. How are … things?”

Rachel made a curious humming sound.

“Oh, we’re doing small talk now, huh?”

Max blinked.

Rachel giggled again and walked past Max into her dorm – without asking, naturally.

Max blinked again and watched her go.

“Yes, Rachel, please come in …”

Rachel properly laughed at this, and stood squarely in the center of Max’s room.

“You’re funny.”

Max carefully turned around and closed the door to her room.

“Did you want something, or … ?”

Rachel made another curious noise.

“Mmm. _We’ll see,_ if I want something, Max.”

Max kinda hated how she never got a straight-forward answer out of Rachel about … anything.

And it put a little frown on her face before she could help it.

Quiet.

Rachel shifted around on her feet and noticed Max wasn’t really playing along.

She sighed, closed her eyes, and went quiet herself for a second or two, but when she opened them again she was back to smiling warmly.

“Well this is going to be _painful_. I’m just playing around, Max. Lighten up. Let’s go walk around a bit.”

Rachel took Max’s hoodie off from her computer chair, walked over to Max, and handed it to her.

Max blinked but looked down and slowly took the hoodie into her hands.

Rachel’s hand was suddenly on Max’s chin –

Forcing her to look up –

Max breathed in, but at least the touch was easier to process now.

As was this look Rachel had on her face.

“And just relax, yeah? I promise I’m really fun to be around if you just play along.”

She gave Max a little wink and walked past her again, letting her hand just slowly fall off as she got out of range.

The door opened and she left Max’s room.

“Come on, slow poke!”

Max looked back down to her hoodie and jeez.

She already felt overwhelmed and Rachel had only been around her for one whole minute.

Maybe it would be easier if she just turned her brain off.

If she just relaxed.

If she just went with the flow.

Both Steph and Rachel seemed to think so, anyway.

Max just shook her head slightly, put on her hoodie, and left her room too to close her door and lock it.

Rachel was already at the end of the hall, waving her down to the stair well.

“Ruuuuun Forrest, run!”

Max blinked.

Just play along?

Yeah, why not.

Max giggled a bit and started after Rachel at a slow run.

Rachel giggled too when she saw Max was playing along and disappeared into the stair well.

Oh jeez.

Max had to chase her.

Maybe this should have annoyed her, but for some reason, it reminded her most of her time around Chloe, when they were kids.

Like she was a giggly kid again.

That felt like so long ago, now …

Max didn’t dwell on the thought.

She just chased Rachel.

 

Max actually wasn’t in amazing physical shape.

At least she ran _down_ stairs instead of _up_ them.

But still, she saw Rachel leave the stairs at the bottom.

When she got to there, she saw Rachel leaving the dorm.

When she got to _there_ , she just paused outside of the dorms, breathing a bit too heavily and looking around, blinking.

Where was ---

“Boo!”

Max gasped, but couldn’t help a giggle as Rachel suddenly materialized from the direction Max wasn’t looking in.

Rachel had her hands up for a few seconds to complete the ‘boo’ scare, and just smiled and crossed her arms again when she saw Max take it positively.

“See. There. Like that. Sometimes you just gotta go with life when it gives you an opportunity. You have some fun, you might even meet some new people.”

Max blinked, but Rachel winked, giggled softly, and brushed past Max to start walking down the steps and on the pavement leading away from the dorms.

Max _didn’t_ sit there like a blinking idiot this time, though. She still felt way too breathless from that little bit of running, but breathed in deep and stepped a bit faster to catch up to Rachel.

“But … sometimes it’s a good idea to like, plan stuff. And junk.”

Her voice was a little strained from her heavier-than-usual breathing, but Max felt weirdly comfortable talking to Rachel after that weird bit of playfulness.

Don’t take this too seriously, right?

If she messed up with Rachel somehow, she still had Victoria tomorrow, and Chloe would always be good to take a date, probably.

Rachel hummed thoughtfully in response to Max’s words.

“Were you planning much when you ran off, on Tuesday?”

Max bit her lip.

“Um … no.”

Rachel looked sidelong to her with a smile as they walked.

“And yet, everything worked out just fine. No one hates you and you got a little bit of help from me. And even two dates. Go you.”

Max had a slight frown.

It wasn’t like it was a particularly pleasant experience or anything, and Rachel was being so chipper and casual about it.

“Yeah, but … it could have gone wrong. Really wrong.”

Rachel shrugged.

“But it didn’t.”

Max blinked.

“But … it could have.”

Rachel laughed and shook her head slightly.

“We’re not going to get stuck in this loop are we?”

She looked to Max.

Max shook her own head slightly.

“Well, think of this way. Nothing ever goes perfect, no matter how much you plan it. Maybe sometimes a little challenge from things going off-schedule is what you need to keep your life interesting.”

Max considered the words, and frowned a little after a few seconds.

“Um, Rachel, I can’t just … rely on luck. Or something. That’s not …”

She didn’t fully know how to articulate her discomfort with Rachel’s free spirited attitude.

Or maybe careless?

She didn’t even know how to describe it that’s how out of her zone she was.

Rachel shrugged.

“I wouldn’t call it luck, just … persistence. When things go wrong you just … deal with one problem at a time.”

Max wasn’t entirely convinced, but Rachel sure seemed to be convinced herself, and Max knew she was not nearly as articulate in her own view points.

Maybe she should just go with the flow.

She shrugged.

“I guess. Never really thought of things like that.”

Rachel giggled.

“Well, duh. That’s what I’m here for.”

Rachel stepped a bit faster to get ahead of Max and turned to face her, extending her arms wide on either side of her while she stepped backwards.

That smile was so nice.

Max could look at it all day.

She realized suddenly that she didn’t even know where they were going or what they were doing, and looked around a little bit.

“So um … where are we going, anyway?”

Rachel shrugged and walked a bit slower until they were side-by-side again. She put her arms down.

“We’re just walking. Does there have to be a destination?”

Max had a flat little grunt.

“Usually, yeah …?”

She had the feeling Rachel wasn’t telling her something again. Did she really just want to walk around aimlessly for a bit as a date?

Rachel hummed thoughtfully.

They walked quietly for another few seconds.

By now, they were outside near the front entrance to the entire school, heading towards the street in front of it.

There was a lot more people around than Max anticipated for a Thursday afternoon.

Justin and Trevor – the local skaters – were out by the street, doing tricks on the side walk.

Victoria was sitting pretty on one of the benches outside, probably doing homework.

There was a brown-haired girl sitting underneath a tree, reading a book. Or maybe homework, hard to tell from this distance.

There were a few other people casually walking along, but they weren’t of much interest to Max.

Max suddenly bumped into Rachel, who had at some point walked in front of Max and stopped walking.

Max blinked and snapped her gaze back to Rachel.

“Oh, um – sorry -”

Rachel giggled, and put her hand on Max’s shoulder.

“You’re fine.”

She looked around herself for a few seconds.

“Lots of opportunities I see around here for some fun. Maybe a story or two we could tell later …”

She slowly looked back to Max with a wry smile.

“Tell me, Max, what do you want to do? What stands out to you?”

Max blinked, but looked around again.

 

The girl under the tree was kind of cute. Could she even say that to Rachel? They were kind of on a date. Maybe. It wasn’t really clear what this was to Max. Maybe that was intentional.

Victoria was another opportunity. Max didn’t understand her in the slightest, but … maybe Rachel would be of some help. Maybe Victoria would let them know about a party or something going on with Rachel around.

Usually Max found things to do with her friends, though.

Maybe she could ask Steph if she was free to do anything. Was that allowed? Did Rachel only want Max to choose something from around here?

Or maybe Chloe … or maybe not, if this was more of a date than not. That would be … awkward. On a date, with her ex, asking her what she’d like to do, with her ex around. And they had a bad history? Max ruled this out. That would just be unfair on Chloe.

 

“Well? Don’t think about it too much. Just pick something. Let’s have some fun.”

 

Max sighed and looked back to Rachel.

Here goes nothing.

 

###### Decisions

This is an interactive story. It's recommended you navigate the fic through these links instead of AO3's navigation system.

[< Choose last decision again](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12061389/chapters/28362561#feedback)

~~> The girl under the tree~~ _(coming soon)_

~~> Victoria~~ _(coming soon)_

~~> Ask Steph~~ _(coming soon)_

~~> Ask Rachel what she wants to do instead~~ _(coming soon)_


	16. Chapter 16

###  Fall asleep watching the movie

##### Day 2, Afternoon, Victoria date route

Waking up next to Victoria was a little surprise.

Max blinked a few times when she realized where she was and what she was doing.

They were both on her couch still, but Max was adjacent to Victoria, with her head just casually resting on Victoria’s shoulder.

She saw that the movie had ended long ago, and didn’t remember even getting tired while watching the movie, let alone falling asleep.

Not like Victoria was an especially comfortable or relaxing person or anything.

Well …

Max did remember parts of the movie.

More importantly, she remembered how Victoria acted during it, since Max had seen the movie a few times already and knew all of the plot points pretty well.

But Victoria was so … gentle, watching it.

They didn’t really talk much, but you’re not supposed to talk during movies you like, a lesson she wished Warren took to heart more often.

Wait, could Max replace Warren’s function with Victoria?

What other kinds of movie did Victoria like?

Hopefully horror, too.

Max liked those.

Max was staring at the still-sleeping Victoria silently while she thought.

While Victoria slept, there was no possibility for her to maintain her image, so her face was relaxed, calm, even a little happy and content.

And also her mouth gaped like the biggest idiot while she slept and it was the cutest thing.

Still, Max’s movement triggered a delayed reaction out of Victoria, who stirred with a groan and lamely smacked her lips while she looked around and tried to do the same process Max just went through of finding out where she was and what had just happened.

With the TV still on and Max right there so close to her there was only so many options, though.

Victoria smiled, barely, when she first saw Max, and Max noticed this immediately, but then Victoria sighed a little, habitually recrossed her arms, and both looked and leaned away.

Max couldn’t help a slight frown at this, since it didn’t seem like a good sign.

“Um … how was the movie.”

Victoria blinked, then scoffed.

“Of course you would have to ask me. Since you fell asleep and all.”

Max bit her lip.

Victoria sounded kind of hurt? Put out? Annoyed? It was hard to place her tone of voice exactly.

“I wasn’t … bored, or something.”

This was the truth, and Max knew it.

She just wasn’t getting too much good quality sleep and felt tired all of the damn time.

Victoria scoffed again and rolled her eyes.

“ _Please_. Entertained people do not just fall asleep. You were bored out of your mind.”

Max’s frown deepened, and she searched her mind for Taylor’s advice again, but it didn’t seem applicable here.

Was this some kind of act, too?

It sure seemed weird to Max for Victoria to care so much about this.

“No, I just …”

Max sighed and looked away herself.

“I guess I was relaxed. And comfortable. And I’m … tired all of the time, these days, and it just … happened.”

Victoria pursed her lips.

Max shook her head.

“Like … I’ve even been falling asleep when I try to do homework.”

Victoria groaned and raised a hand up to rub at her own temples.

“So you’re not getting enough sleep.”

Max blinked, and looked back to Victoria.

“Um … maybe?”

Quiet.

“How many hours.”

Max blinked again.

“… Of?”

Small grunt.

“Sleep, dummy.”

Yet another blink.

“Um. Siiiiiiiiiix?”

Max drew it out a bit and sounded quite uncertain, since she didn’t ---

“You don’t know. You’re not keeping a schedule.”

Neither were questions.

Max bit her lip.

“I mean I’m kinda lucky to get out of bed at all somedays and ---”

Victoria scoffed again, and then suddenly stood up.

Max just kept blinking.

“You’re even more of a mess than I thought. But this is … fixable.”

Being called a dummy and a mess wasn’t exactly endearing or confidence boosting, and Max just melted into the couch with a defeated sigh.

“I don’t know …”

Quiet.

It was a little awkward.

Victoria sighed painfully.

“Max. I’m up here. Look.”

Max had been kinda staring off into nothing, but looked up to Victoria when she asked for it.

Or more like demanded.

Kind of the same thing around Victoria.

“Yeah … ?”

Some more quiet while Victoria considered her words.

“I can help you stick to a schedule. It’ll suck at first, but …”

She looked away for a few seconds and Max dumbly followed where her eyes went before they both returned to one another,

“… then you get used to it, and it’s how you become productive. Like … an adult, almost.”

Max blinked.

“Stick to a schedule?”

Victoria scoffed.

“You say it like it’s a four-letter word. Yes, sticking to a schedule. Waking up at the same time. Doing homework at the same time. Going to bed at the same time. Working out at the same time.”

Max blinked again.

“Working out?”

Victoria just sighed and shook her head.

“Never mind that, that’s not my point, my point is ---”

Max frowned herself.

“--- I’m not … you, Victoria.”

Pause.

It was pretty awkward again.

“I’ve … already tried that stuff. I just … can’t. I can’t do well in school, I can’t sleep regularly, I … I can’t even watch a movie with you without you getting upset at me. I can’t do anything right. I just … suck.”

Victoria bit her lip.

More quiet.

Boy this was painful, and it seemed to be wearing even more on Victoria than Max, with her nervous looking around the room and anxious tapping at her arms with her fingers while her arms were still crossed.

If Max didn’t know any better, she’d say Victoria was deliberating on whether or not to say something.

“Max. I didn’t get upset at you _because_ of you.”

Max blinked.

“Uhm. What? You were upset that ---”

“--- that you fell asleep, yes. But. Not … because of you, per se.”

Max blinked a couple dozen more times.

Just …

“ _What_?”

Victoria sure was a confusing person sometimes, but this was something else, what the hell did –

Victoria groaned painfully, closed her eyes, and looked up to the ceiling.

It took her a few seconds to look back down and open her eyes again, and Max stayed quiet during this time, albeit frowning with her confusion growing.

“I was upset because I thought you were bored of _me_.”

Max blinked.

Victoria thought Max was bored of her?

Was that insecurity?

Woah.

Victoria shifted around on her feet a little bit.

“Not a good time to be quiet, Max.”

Max shook her head.

“Uhm. Sorry, Victoria, just … I don’t know what to say.”

Victoria bit her lip again.

“That you enjoyed watching the movie with me would be a good start.”

Max shrugged.

“I enjoyed watching the movie with you, Victoria.”

Victoria closed her eyes with a pleasant exhale and sat herself down next to Max again.

“Thanks.”

Max was pretty sure she had never heard Victoria thank anyone non-sarcastically.

But Victoria wasn’t keeping eye contact now, even though she had opened them again when she had sat down.

She just sort of sat there, awkwardly detached from Max, even though this was kinda supposed to be a date?

Do you even have difficult conversations like this on a date?

It felt like they should be having a good time or something, not ---

“So. That wasn’t because of you. Your grades aren’t because you’re stupid. You not sticking to a schedule isn’t because you can’t.”

Victoria looked over to Max.

“You can be so much more if you tried, Max. I … I _know_ it.”

Getting such assurances from Victoria of all people felt … really nice.

It made Max smile a little bit, even if she obviously didn’t believe it.

Max looked down to the couch and the space between them.

“I don’t know, Victoria …”

Victoria sighed.

“Just. Give it another shot. With me?”

Max blinked and carefully looked back up to Victoria.

She had that softness to her face again, and that very slight smile.

Max really liked seeing this softness to her.

“Okay … I guess.”

Victoria smiled wider.

Max did too.

Still, there was quiet after that, and Max didn’t really know what to say or do.

But.

She had a desire, now.

“Can I uh … hold your hand?”

Victoria exhaled, amused, but uncrossed her arms to offer Max one of her hands anyway.

Max smiled a bit wider and took the offered hand to intertwine their fingers.

She always liked physical contact like this, and it felt really earned when Victoria offered it.

Meaningful.

And while Max was quite content to have and hold Victoria’s hand like this, her future seemed uncertain with the vagueness of “trying” more and Victoria helping her.

Max thought about vocalizing this, but …

When she looked to Victoria again – since her eyes had obviously gone down to her hand when it was offered – she just looked so content with the world.

Pleased.

It made Max smile even wider and scoot a bit closer so they weren’t stretching their arms so much for this.

It also stripped her of her words and just left her quietly appreciating this Victoria.

After a few moments, though, Victoria inhaled deeply with her eyes closed, exhaled harshly with her eyes open, and found the remote to the TV.

“Now that we’ve cleared the air, so to speak … how about some terrible TV for a little bit? Then you can go fetch your homework and we can finish that out because I know you still haven’t, dummy.”

Somehow, the way Victoria said ‘dummy’ didn’t seem spiteful or like an insult, like it did earlier.

It almost sound endeared.

Like a pet name.

Maybe Max was just imagining things, because of the moment and Victoria’s momentary softness and all, but it still gave her the confidence to scoot up even closer to Victoria until they were adjacent again.

And to start trailing her thumb over Victoria’s hand gently.

“Ok. That sounds really nice, actually …”

Max hadn’t gotten her homework done, and she kinda needed to, since it was due pretty soon.

So some awful TV to reset her brain from that conversation and then some guided help sounded just like what Max needed.

“See if good eats is on.”

Victoria scoffed.

“I said _terrible_ TV, not _good_ , Jesus.”

Max just smiled, smiled, smiled.

“Oh. My mistake.”

 

Watching TV with Victoria was nice.

She made snide, biting remarks constantly, but never sounded all that annoyed or angry.

Max just viewed it as her personal live version of MST3K.

Plus, she held Victoria’s hand the entire time, and the little squeezes from her every so often felt really nice.

Holding Victoria’s hand was nice.

Victoria was nice.

Well, in one sense, anyway.

 

##### Day 3, Morning, Victoria date route

The next day, Max was shuffling some books in and out of her locker.

When she closed it, she about jumped out of her skin –

Rachel was here.

Jesus.

Was this going to be a regular kind of thing?

“Um. Hi, Rachel.”

Rachel smiled and pushed herself off of the row of lockers with her arms crossed.

“Hey-hey-hey. I hear you canceled on Chloe.”

Max blinked, and looked around carefully to see who was around and might hear this conversation.

Thankfully, pretty much no one.

“Oh, um, yeah. I went on a … date, I guess, with Victoria, instead.”

Rachel blinked a few times and her mouth gaped slightly.

“Wow. Really?”

The scandalized look made Max blush and look away with a small huff.

“Y-yeah.”

Rachel giggled.

“Well this is going to be fun.”

Max blinked.

“Wha ---”

She looked back to Rachel, but Rachel was already walking past her.

She turned around and walked backwards with a pleasant wave.

“Catch you around, Maxxie.”

Max just blinked.

Maybe Rachel was the most confusing woman she knew.

She was certainly in competition with Victoria for that title …

Max sighed, and tried to put the exchange out of her mind.

Thankfully, Max had things to do today to keep her mind off of weird confusing girls.

 

Max was making her way to Victoria’s room after all of her classes to get some help with her homework, but before she could get even into the dorm –

Someone placed their hand on Max’s shoulder, and she barely jumped out of surprise and turned to face whomever was there.

Taylor, giggling a little and smiling.

“That’s cute.”

Cute.

Max frowned a little bit.

“Um. Hi, Taylor. I was just ---”

Taylor nodded and started walking forward towards the dorms.

“--- going to Victoria’s room, I know.”

Max blinked, but dumbly followed after Taylor anyway.

“She told you?”

Taylor looked back with a warm and wide smile.

“ _Duh_. Victoria tells me everything. Including how cute you are when you sleep.”

Max huffed and blushed slightly and looked away, but Taylor just giggled again.

“But that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about.”

Max blinked and looked back to Taylor, who was still looking back at Max.

“Then what?”

Taylor sighed a little bit, opening the door leading to the girl’s dorm and letting Max walk past her before following behind.

The door closed a bit too loudly for Max’s ears.

“Max, you’ve been talking to Rachel, haven’t you?”

Another blink.

“Maybe? What does it ---”

Taylor suddenly stopped and Max very nearly ran into her it was so sudden.

She had a frown on her face, and Max had to replicate it when Taylor turned around to face her.

“Max. You can’t talk to Rachel if you’re going to date Victoria. She’s going to _freak._ ”

Max’s frown deepened.

“What …?”

Taylor crossed her arms, looked down to the floor briefly, and sighed.

“ _Look_. Victoria is a total sweetheart but she’s completely and entirely unreasonable about Rachel.”

Taylor looked back up to Max, still frowning.

“Just avoid Rachel and side with Victoria if she brings it up. Otherwise …”

Taylor broke a hand away to slide her index finger horizontally along her neck, making a gagging sound while she did this.

Max sighed herself.

“That doesn’t sound … right.”

Taylor nodded, and both of their expressions mellowed out somewhat.

“It really isn’t. I’ve been trying for ages to get Victoria over Rachel, but … she just thinks Rachel is manipulating me into doing that.”

She went quiet.

“You’ll have to totally stop talking to Rachel so Victoria knows it’s not just her playing some game. Maybe then you’ll have some chance of getting her over this.”

Max blinked.

“Um, me?”

Taylor giggled, and turned around to start walking back to their hallway again.

“Yes, you, silly.”

Max followed after her lamely, but sighed.

“There’s no way I can … _help_ Victoria …”

Taylor scoffed.

“Oh don’t give me that insecure crap.”

Max blinked.

Taylor looked back again with a smile.

“You can do it. I know you can, Max.”

Max sighed deeply, and looked away from Taylor while rubbing at her own arm.

“I don’t know, Taylor …”

Taylor opened the door leading into their hallway, and gestured for Max to go ahead, which she did.

“Oh, huff. It’ll be fine.”

Max bit her lip.

They kept on walking until they reached Taylor’s room, and she just gave a pleasant wave to Max.

“Have lots of … _fun_ with Victoria, now, Max.”

She had this ridiculous grin on her face as she said this and for some reason Max blushed and huffed, but waved back as she walked to Victoria’s room.

 

She knocked.

“It’s open.”

Max breathed in deeply, tried to clear her mind of all of her day’s troubles, and just opened the door.

Victoria was sitting on her computer chair, not even bothering to turn around and face Max as she entered, but that was kind of okay.

Max sat herself down on Victoria’s couch and pulled her bag off to start working on her homework.

Quiet.

“So.”

Max blinked, and looked up to Victoria, who sighed painfully and turned her computer chair around finally.

Her face looked like death, though, and her arms were viciously crossed.

“I heard you’re still talking to _Rachel_.”

Oh.

Damn.

Max blinked and bit her lip.

The way Victoria said _Rachel_ was just so full of spite it almost sent a shiver down Max’s spine.

She forced her mouth into working, even though Taylor just told her how dangerous this topic was.

“Uhm … a little bit? She just … kind of finds me, sometimes.”

Victoria didn’t keep eye contact.

She just impatiently tapped at her arms with her fingers.

 

“Max. Please. For me. Ignore her. Stop talking to her. Don’t interact.”

 

Shit.

Rachel was nice, if a bit shifty.

She _did_ help Max reconnect with Chloe.

She might be of help later, too.

She certainly didn’t deserve to be _ignored_ …

But what could Max do?

Taylor said Victoria was unreasonable about this.

Victoria looked so vulnerable about this, too.

Ugh.

 

Max breathed in deep.

Try and fix this mess now, or focus on their relationship first?

Yet another awful unwinnable decision.

 

###### Decisions

This is an interactive story. It's recommended you navigate the fic through these links instead of AO3's navigation system.

[< Choose last decision again](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12061389/chapters/27841452#feedback)

~~> Side with Rachel~~ _(coming soon)_

[> Side with Victoria](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12061389/chapters/29533314#chapters)


	17. Chapter 17

### Side with Victoria

##### Day 3, Afternoon, Victoria date route

Damn.

This decision seemed completely unwinnable, but Max had to choose.

And Victoria just looked so …

Needy.

Like she _needed_ Max to agree to this.

Like Max was the only one who could.

 

Ugh.

 

“Victoria …”

 

It came out pretty weak.

Victoria sighed.

“Max, just.”

She didn’t have her words, though, which was pretty impressive in of itself, only huffing instead.

Max bit her lip.

“Okay.”

Victoria blinked.

She carefully looked over to Max, blinking a few more times slowly.

“Wait. What. Really?”

Max nodded.

“Yeah. But we … need to talk more about Rachel.”

Victoria bit her lip and looked down with a heavy sigh, but nodded.

“That’s fair.”

Quiet.

It was a little awkward.

Victoria stood up.

“Max, can you just …”

Max’s eyes followed her, but she didn’t really know what to do.

She put her homework off to the side and stood up, though, which seemed to be what Victoria wanted.

“… come here. For a bit.”

Max blinked.

Her voice sounded so gentle.

Victoria wanted her closer?

Well, hard to object to that.

Max smiled gently and stepped closer to Victoria until they were adjacent.

Almost touching just by proximity.

Victoria closed her eyes, breathed in deeply, and –

Suddenly her arms were around Max’s, hugging her tightly.

Max was expecting a hug the least out of everything.

She wasn’t going to complain, though.

She wrapped her own arms around to return the hug, as tightly as Victoria had initiated it.

It was a solemn, reassuring thing.

And it was so quiet.

Max closed her eyes and rested her face somewhere in Victoria’s being – neck, clothes, shoulders, whatever – it didn’t matter.

Victoria had a few shaky, uneven exhales throughout the duration of the hug, as though she was about to cry or something.

Max spared her the indignity of seeing her cry – if that’s what she was doing - by keeping her face hidden.

After at least a minute of the tight hug, Victoria carefully loosened her grip and moved her hands up to Max’s shoulders instead.

Max let her arms just fall down to her side and pulled her face free to look at Victoria.

Victoria looked away as soon as Max looked at her, and her eyes were obviously red and puffy.

If she hadn’t been crying, she was pretty fucking close to it, and it just tugged at all manner of heart strings in Max.

“No one understands. About Rachel.”

Max raised both of her hands up to find Victoria’s own, and bring them down to waist level.

She squeezed Victoria’s hands, who sighed contently, and gently tried to tug her over to the couch.

Victoria complied, and they sat down pleasantly next to one another.

With some friendly distance between them, anyway.

Like earlier, Max stole one of Victoria’s hands.

Victoria crossed one of her legs over and leaned forward, resting her chin on another hand which was itself resting on the crossed leg.

Max leaned in close so her voice could be gentle and soft.

Victoria still wasn’t looking at her.

“Well… tell me? Make me understand?”

Victoria sighed and hesitated, but shook her head gently.

“I … can’t.”

Max blinked.

“You … can’t?”

Victoria nodded.

“Sorry, Max … I just need you to trust me on this.”

Max frowned, a little, but didn’t release Victoria’s hand.

She just squeezed it instead.

Victoria readjusted the positions of their hands so that she could squeeze Max’s hand back, too.

“It’s a really big ask to ignore Rachel … I … don’t need to know _everything,_ but, enough?”

Max straightened her posture.

Victoria emitted a pained sigh and melted even more into her slumped posture, clearly thinking.

It took her maybe half a minute before she said anything.

Max just gave her the time, patiently.

“All of my friends – even the ones I’ve fucked – know Rachel. And I’m pretty sure they like spending time around her more than me.”

Max blinked again.

There was that self-doubt, again, but now with a layer of jealousy?

What did Victoria have to be jealous about …?

Max squeezed Victoria’s hand, and Victoria squeezed Max’s in return.

“I like spending time around you more than her.”

This was pretty easy to say, but Max honestly didn’t know Rachel all that well.

She had maybe ten minutes of conversation total with her?

Victoria smiled, barely, and straightened up her posture, only to melt back more into the couch.

“Thanks, Max.”

She sighed deeply and closed her eyes.

“It’s not just that though. No one listens to me when I tell them how fake Rachel is being. Taylor _thinks_ she likes Rachel, but … she only sees what Rachel wants her to. She doesn’t know the real Rachel.”

Max hummed thoughtfully.

“Do I know the real Victoria?”

Still with her eyes closed, Victoria made a scoffing sound, and then sighed.

She opened her eyes to look plainly at Max, and at least her eyes didn’t look irritated anymore, though her eyeliner had very slightly ran.

“You’re certainly getting there.”

Max smiled, a little bit.

So did Victoria.

Max squeezed Victoria’s hand, and it was returned.

Victoria shook her head and looked off into the distance again, away from Max.

“So people trust her. Like idiots. She plays with them in these _fucking_ games. For her enjoyment, or something, I don’t know. Everything she touches turns to shit.”

She frowned properly, now.

“Made Taylor distrust me. Made Steph annoying as fuck. Made Jefferson see me as childish. Made Nathan think I was just being jealous. Ugh.”

Max blinked.

Rachel manipulated Victoria’s friends?

Wait –

There was a name in there that didn’t sit right.

“You … know Steph?”

Victoria blinked a few times, then carefully looked back to Max.

She sighed.

“For certain definitions of ‘know’, I guess. We had sex.”

Max blinked a couple dozen times with a small blush at the thought, and Victoria just had an amused, deep chuckle.

“Don’t blush too much, Max.”

Max huffed.

“Well, anyway … I had no idea she did that to your friends.”

Victoria nodded pleasantly and melted more into the couch, looking away again to one of her walls.

“Yeah.”

It came out more as a sigh than anything.

“At least everyone knows I’m just a cold-hearted bitch. People know what they’re getting into when they’re my friend. No one knows Rachel or what she wants.”

Max blinked again and shook her head.

“No, you’re not …”

But she kinda couldn’t finish the sentence honestly, and Victoria just rolled her eyes with a small scoff.

She squeezed Max’s hand.

Max returned it.

“Max, please, don’t … I know what I am and have made peace with it.”

She looked back to Max, looking pretty neutral.

Max frowned and bit her lip, but it would be hard to argue that Victoria wasn’t a bitch.

She wasn’t even sure why she felt obligated to object.

Probably because she saw this gentle side of Victoria, too?

This self-loathing and insecurity?

She felt like if more people saw this side of her it’d be easier to understand why she acted like she did.

So closed-off and cruel.

But Max was thinking instead of doing anything, and so the silence eventually had Victoria sighing gently, pulling her hand away to cross her arms, and looking off to one of her walls again.

“Satisfied, Max? … let’s do your homework.”

Max didn’t really know the answer to that question.

Victoria’s reasoning wasn’t unbelievably compelling or anything, but Max tried to put herself in Victoria’s shoes.

What if Rachel made Chloe think differently of her? Or Warren? Or Kate?

… Or Victoria?

Especially for the negative?

The thought rested uneasily in her mind.

Rachel didn’t seem like the type to be vindictive, but, maybe that was the point.

At least this grudge she had with someone Max didn’t know very well.

Taylor said to give some time with her not talking to Rachel before she pushed Victoria on this.

 

Maybe she could have that time.

 

Max nodded, slightly.

“For now, I guess … but I want you to be able to trust me with this … stuff.”

Victoria closed her eyes, breathed in deeply, and let a long, careful sigh.

“Yeah. I wouldn’t have expected anything else.”

She looked back to Max with the faintest of smiles, and Max couldn’t help but to return it, since Victoria’s smiles were such fragile things that needed whatever encouragement they could get.

Victoria then cleared her throat, broke her hand away, and plainly patted at the section of the couch right next to her.

Max blinked, but happily scooted up next to Victoria’s side until they were touching from adjacency.

Victoria raised one of her hands up, hesitated, but then just shook her head slightly, quickly moving it to Max’s shoulder opposite her and tugging her in closer still, until Max was nestled into her side.

Lavender.

Max breathed in easily, not fully understanding when she got the permission to cuddle with Victoria like this but not complaining either.

Victoria looked to her other side to pick up Max’s bag with her free hand and drop it plainly on Max’s lap, who blinkingly took to finding what she was working on before this Rachel nonsense.

And just like that, they were studying together.

Victoria wasn’t … the best teacher.

But she was trying.

Max was trying, too.

She tried to just clear her mind of the consequences her decision here might have and just focus on her homework.

She stole fruitive glances at Victoria from time to time, too.

Though she usually looked annoyed or was frowning slightly, Max saw some soft smiles here and there too.

Almost like a metaphor for Victoria as a whole.

 

Max finished her homework – all of it – and felt surprisingly … good, afterwards.

Like maybe her academics would turn around with Victoria’s perfectly-manicured hands guiding her.

 

##### Day 5, Morning, Victoria date route

The painful conversation Max had been dreading came not tomorrow, but the day after.

Max was at her locker, again.

She closed it, again.

Rachel was there, again.

Max jumped a little, _again_.

Rachel was all smiles, again.

“Hey.”

Max wanted to smile in return, but she couldn’t.

Instead, she sighed and frowned.

“I’m sorry, Rachel. I can’t … talk to you anymore.”

Max only belatedly thought to look around _afterwards_ to avoid making a scene.

Rachel was the kind of person to draw attention wherever she went, and being on campus was unusual for a graduated senior, so …

There were definitely a few eyeballs on them.

Damn it.

Rachel frowned herself.

That might have been the first time Max saw her not smiling?

“You can’t?”

Max nodded.

“No… I’m sorry.”

Rachel sighed deeply and crossed her arms.

She had her eyes closed for a second or two, and this was definitely the first time Max felt like she had caught Rachel off-guard and she didn’t know what to say.

“Victoria, right?”

Max nodded again, though it was pointless since Rachel’s eyes were closed.

“Um, yeah. I guess. Kind of. It’s only ---”

She didn’t get to finish, though.

Rachel brushed past her coldly, turned on her heel, and started walking backwards while still talking to Max.

“This is fucked, Max. I hope she’s worth it.”

She gestured by bringing both of her arms wide on either side of her body and emphasized the ‘fuck’ by leaning in slightly.

She said this _way_ too loud and people were _definitely_ looking now.

But, after that, she turned back around, crossed her arms, and just continued walking away.

 

Max watched her go with a deep-seated frown and a small blush at the attention.

That didn’t go well.

She wasn’t sure why she was expecting Rachel to be more understanding.

But maybe Rachel didn’t like Victoria as much as Victoria didn’t like Rachel.

That thought actually put a nervous bundle of nerves in Max’s stomach.

Just what had she agreed to by picking Victoria’s side?

 

Blackwell was a small school and news traveled fast, especially when it involved either Victoria or Rachel, and especially especially when it involved them both.

When she sat down for her next class – Chemistry – Warren was there.

He sat down next to her, like he always did when he could and Max wasn’t forcibly paired with someone else.

Max was kind of hoping –

“Dude.”

He was grinning like an idiot and tapping excitedly at his – their – desk, while staring obviously at Max.

He didn’t even finish putting his bag down and unpacking for the class before he started talking.

“Dude. Is it true? Did you bitch at Rachel for Victoria?”

Max blinked a few dozen time and felt her cheeks starting to burn.

Oh, god. Is this how the news was going to travel?

Max groaned and shook her head.

“No, I didn’t … _bitch_ at her. I just … said we couldn’t be friends.”

Warren made a thoughtful sound, hesitated for a second or two, and only just now finally decided to start unpacking his bag for the class.

“Sounds like bitching to me?”

Max frowned deeply and crossed her arms.

“ _Warren._ ”

Warren finished putting his stuff on his – their – desk and raised his hands in playful surrender.

“Hey, hey! I’m on _your_ side. I’m sure you had your reasons. Just … I dunno what they are.”

Max kept her frown for a few more seconds but sighed and tried to calm herself down.

This already felt like it was spiraling out of control and that was a stressful thought.

She closed her eyes, breathed in deeply, and let it out slowly.

“It’s a thing. With Victoria. She’s um. Yeah. They don’t get along.”

Warren’s eyes flashed with something Max didn’t have the time to process, and then he grinned a little.

“With Victoria, huh? I get it. She’s hot. If Nathan needed me to drop someone I’d totally do it in a heartbeat.”

Max opened her mouth to respond to the first part since --- _seriously_ \--- but her thought process got totally derailed by the second half, and she just blinked stupidly for a few moments with her mouth gaping like the surprised idiot she was.

What?

“What?”

Warren himself froze, looked around to make sure no one was paying attention, and laughed kind of nervously.

“Oh um I mean. Nothing. Don’t worry about. I’m just a kidder, you know?”

Max realized her reaction probably seemed scandalized, so she bit her lip.

She kept her voice a bit quieter, though.

“It’s … fine, of course. I just … wouldn’t have imagined …”

Warren just shrugged, and looked down to his supplies on his – their – desk.

“Yeah … wouldn’t have imagined you with Victoria, either.”

He looked back up to Max with a warm smile.

“But maybe they need someone like us, yeah? To smooth out their … um … difficult parts.”

This made Max smile, too.

“Thanks, Warren, that’s … a really nice thought.”

It _was_ a really nice thought.

Even with the vague feeling of dread that her life was about to get even more complicated, and fast, it kept her from getting too stressed until she was in photography.

 

A class she shared with Victoria.

Things were immediately and noticeably different as she entered the room.

It was a few minutes before class – because Victoria _insisted_ she be early for this class, routinely – and Nathan was sitting on Victoria’s desk.

That was fine.

What was different is there was a free desk close to Victoria, which Taylor was wont to occupy.

Taylor was not sitting at the desk.

And when Victoria looked up to see Max, she smiled pleasantly for a few seconds, and patted at that desk with a hand.

Max blinked.

This was new, and very strange.

Victoria had been pretty quiet about any relationship they had and seemed to prefer to have their time together in private, where no one but Taylor would know about it.

She hadn’t been treating Max too differently other than avoiding directly picking on her in public, and Max honestly wasn’t expecting anything differently.

She certainly never asked Max to sit down next to her, or anything.

But …

Max wasn’t going to complain.

She smiled herself and took the seat close to Victoria.

Victoria turned in her seat to face her, and leaned in a bit.

“I heard you made Rachel upset. _Good._ ”

She sounded and looked properly smug at this.

Oh.

That probably explained why Victoria was acting differently, now …

Max bit her lip.  

“It didn’t feel very good.”

Nathan scoffed.

“Because you’re not a jealous bitch.”

Victoria frowned and scoffed herself, turning back around partially to flick forcefully at Nathan’s arm.

He responded with a small noise and fidget and his own eye roll.

Max just realized the full implication of Nathan being here, listening to Max, honestly, and contributing to the conversation she was having with Victoria.

Nathan _hated_ her.

But he seemed to be pretty fine with her now, too.

Did his opinion on her change _that_ quickly?

“Nevermind him.”

Victoria huffed and looked back to Max.

Her expression softened.

“It means a lot to me. I …”

Nathan grunted.

“Ugh. _Feelings_. Bail. Later.”

Nathan shoved himself off of Victoria’s desk and started to walk away.

Victoria frowned and watched him go out of the corner of her eyes.

“Bye Felicia.”

Nathan just grumbled and shoved his hands into his jacket.

“Fuckin’ … dykes.”

Victoria rolled her eyes again with a slight shake of her head.

The exchange was a little confusing to Max, though.

Weren’t they good friends?

They bickered like they hated each other, or something.

Was this an act, too?

Confusing.

When Victoria’s eyes came back to Max, she just sighed gently.

“So. As I was saying. This is … more than most have done for me in a long time.”

Her eyes looked down for a few seconds.

Max just gaped her mouth, trying to run her mind for something to say but not coming up with anything appropriate.

“And I don’t forget easily.”

Victoria then huffed, turned back around and crossed her arms tightly.

That left Max with a lot to think about, and mercifully, Victoria appeared to be done talking, so it gave her that time to think.

More people spilled into the class room and most noticed Max sitting so close to Victoria.

Max didn’t know how to handle the stares, but Victoria doubled down on it by reaching back to grab Max’s hand and stare daggers in return.

Max didn’t know how to handle _that_ , either, but she really liked Victoria holding her hand and she felt much safer with Victoria’s spines being used to protect her, for once, instead of to skewer her.

Still.

Max hid her face with the desk on her arm and just soaked up the gentle affection from Victoria’s hand whenever it squeezed.

She got through the class with Victoria’s affirmations, and was more than happy to walk back to Victoria’s room to crash on her couch.

She needed a moment to recover from all of the crazy denying Rachel had brought on her.

Victoria was actually pretty good for this, since she could contently and quietly tap away at her computer until Max was ready.

Max had the feeling someone like Chloe would be trying to provide her with more affection and assurances right now, which while well-intentioned, would just be more overwhelming.

Max just needed peace and quiet, sometimes.

 

##### Day 10, Afternoon, Victoria date route

As the days ticked over, Max was slowly getting used to everything.

Waking up as early as Victoria wanted, going to bed when she wanted, sticking to something like a schedule.

She was getting her homework done pretty consistently now, and earned little hugs out of Victoria for it.

Her social circle shifted almost completely overnight, too, and Max wasn’t sure how to handle that, either.

She sat surrounded by Vortex Club members at lunch, insulated from anyone who would judge her about her relationship with Victoria, and pointedly tugged into her side.

Max was really starting to like Victoria’s defensive spines to anyone who thought it a bit odd or queer.

Max was really starting to like Victoria.

Victoria.

 

After Max had finished her homework for that day, she lazily laid down on Victoria’s couch and rested her eyes.

Not sleeping, just patiently waiting for Victoria to finish her own obligations, so they could take to doing something nice for the afternoon, like watch a movie, or terrible TV, or prowl around campus for interesting shots for their photography project.

This didn’t go to plan, though.

Her phone vibrated and made a little sound –

Text from Chloe –

_dude we need to talk come by my place_

Max blinked.

She’d been so busy dating Victoria and building up her schedule she’d kind of forgotten about some of her friends.

Max more-or-less dropped Warren entirely outside of classes they shared, since he liked to play their video games long past the time Max would go to bed now, and she got all of the horror movie watching out of her system with Victoria now.

She was trying to not let Kate slip through, but it was hard. She had her own schedule, which didn’t afford them much time for their tea dates anymore. Before, Max was always free, so any free time Kate had could be utilized for a quick cup of tea.

Not anymore.

Rachel obviously wasn’t her friend anymore. Was she ever? Max was still processing that.

Chloe was … Max felt really awkward about rejecting her to date Victoria instead. It felt like talking to her too much now would just rub salt in the wound that, for whatever reason, Max picked Victoria over her.

So the easiest thing was just to keep her at arm’s length.

Even if she knew that’s what got Chloe upset at her in the first place.

Ugh.

No, she had to go visit Chloe.

Maybe Max was an asshole for ignoring her for all of that time, but at least she could say she wouldn’t repeat doing that again.

_Sure how does tonite sound???_

Max didn’t even realize some of Victoria’s texting habits had slipped into her own.

_tonight_

Max blinked. Did Chloe just correct her?

_yeah, tonight’s good, see you then_

At least Chloe didn’t sound too mad.

Maybe she just wanted to spend more time with Max, and didn’t have anything particular she wanted to talk about.

That was a nice thought.

It made Max smile slightly as she looked up to Victoria.

“Hey, um …”

Victoria grunted flatly.

Max knew what this meant, though.

“Can you drop me off at Chloe’s house?”

Victoria shrugged a little bit.

“Whatever. Just don’t make me bail you out when she gets your ass into trouble.”

Max sighed pleasantly and melted back into the couch.

It was much easier to ask Victoria for favors like this, now, ever since she denied Rachel.

Max couldn’t fully understand why it was _so_ important to Victoria, but it seemed to make her trust Max an awful lot in short order.

Or maybe Victoria wanted to trust Max, and just couldn’t, with Rachel in the way.

Weird thoughts.

Max still wanted to get Victoria over this Rachel thing, but it felt a little bit easier to give Victoria the time she needed to get comfortable with the subject, too.

Max was privy to little smiles, little laughs, little compliments, that made it seem like Victoria was happier as a person with Max in her life.

Maybe that was enough on its own.

She’d have to think on it more.

 

Later, after being driven to the Price household with some pleasant conversation about Chloe in general – pleasant enough by Victoria’s standards, anyway – Max soaked up her hug from Victoria and left her car.

Steph was somehow outside, again, still smoking and scrolling through her phone.

As Victoria drove off, Max put her hands into her jeans and wondered just how much Steph was over here.

Was it kind of like Max was with Victoria?

Weird thought, considering Max and Victoria were dating.

Steph and Chloe weren’t.

Right?

Right.

Max walked up to Steph and cleared her throat.

“Hey.”

Steph looked up with a warm smile.

Her hair was a bit more blonde now, more bleached.

Slowly spreading.

“Woah. She’s even changing your clothes, too. Wild.”

Max blinked, and looked down at herself in a moment of self-awareness.

Victoria wasn’t _severely_ influencing her wardrobe, just her jeans were a little distressed now and her usual hoodie was replaced with more appropriate and fashionable tops.

Max just shrugged and looked back up to Steph.

“They look better.”

Steph laughed, put out her joint on the wall, and stood up.

“I’d say so. Chloe’s upstairs. Let’s go.”

Max didn’t need to be told twice.

It was easier to walk up the stairs to her room, this time, and Mr. Madsen wasn’t home, so it was quick.

Steph barged into Chloe’s room – without knocking, and Max followed behind her with a pleasant smile.

Chloe groaned.

She was laying down on her bed, smoking weed thoughtlessly.

With her eyes closed.

It was interesting to Max how diligent Steph was in obeying Mr. Madsen’s rules, and how little Chloe seemed to care.

Her room certainly smelled of pot.

“Dude you gotta knock. What if I was knuckle deep in some girl?”

Max blinked a few times.

Steph scoffed, rolled her eyes, and picked up a white sock near the door to toss it at Chloe.

“I don’t think we have to worry about that particular thing _._ But because we’re dreamers here, you know the rule. Sock on the door when you’re … _occupied_.”

Chloe returned the scoff, lazily batting the sock away when it landed on her.

Steph looked back to Max with a smile, and suddenly placed both of her hands on Max’s shoulders to push her in front of Steph, closer to Chloe’s bed.

“Besides. You’re going to make Max blush talking like a sailor like that.”

Max continued to blink uselessly, though didn’t mind Steph manipulating her position to be closer to the bed.

Chloe made an inelegant sputtering sound and blinked her eyes open rapidly, hurriedly sitting up on the edge of her bed and looking up to Max with a dopey, endearing grin.

And a slight blush.

“Uhhhmmm … you didn’t hear that.”

Max couldn’t help but return Chloe’s dopey look.

“Okay. I didn’t hear that.”

Steph patted at one of Max’s shoulders, since she still hadn’t let go, and scoffed.

Max looked back to her.

“Nooooo. You can’t just let that stuff go. You gotta remember when Chloe fucks up and tease her for it. It’s the only way she learns.”

Max blinked, but had an amused exhale at the thought.

Chloe playfully huffed and crossed her arms in an exaggerated fashion.

Max looked back to her.

“No one asked you. Buzz off.”

Dangerously playful, and despite the content of their words, they were both grinning like idiots.

But Chloe’s grin suddenly died, and she uncrossed her arms to sigh and place them on the edge of the bed.

“Um. More seriously though. I want to talk to Max alone, for a bit.”

Oh.

This felt like it was going to be painful from how Chloe’s mood and voice so totally changed.

Especially when Steph gently pulled her hands off of Max’s and just walked away.

“’kay. Remember: no sexing her, or Vic will bite your head off.”

At least Steph was still playfully teasing, even if the words made Max blush a little herself as they registered and processed.

Chloe blushed a little bit more, too, and looked away from either of them to some wall until Steph had totally left and closed the door behind her.

Then Chloe slowly looked back to Max.

“So … Victoria.”

Max deflated with a groan.

Was literally everyone going to have a problem with her dating Victoria?

Max took a seat on Chloe’s computer chair, since this conversation felt like it might be long and awful.

“Yeah?”

Chloe frowned, a little.

Max noticed.

“Rachel tells me she’s picking and choosing your friends and controlling you and shit. Like … it’s one thing that it’s _Victoria_ , but --- _come on_ , Max, that’s ---”

Max huffed.

Chloe noticed.

Max frowned, a little.

“Rachel’s upset at me and … not telling you the whole story.”

Chloe shifted so she was leaning forward more, resting on her elbows lazily.

She looked away for a few seconds, before back to Max.

“Okay. What’s your spin.”

Max’s frown deepened.

_Spin._

“Rachel and Victoria are like … mortal enemies. Or something. It’s not just any friend she was concerned about. Victoria is … worried she’ll hurt or … manipulate me in one of her games, like she did with her other friends.”

Chloe blinked a few times, and deflated with a heavy sigh.

She flopped back onto her back and splayed her arms above her on the bed carelessly.

“Ugh. _Fuck_.”

Max blinked.

That kind of wasn’t a reaction she was expecting.

“Um … what?”

Chloe shook her head with a miserable groan, and took another hit from her pot pipe.

She exhaled it harshly.

“Rachel kinda does play games like that. And I think she just played me to get you to stop dating Victoria.”

Max blinked a few dozen times.

“What?”

Chloe nodded, slowly.

Another hit.

“Yeah. She was talking about you like … being her slave, or something. Yet you’re here, and I doubt with Vic’s blessing, since she hates my guts. Something doesn’t add up.”

Max considered the words carefully.

Just what _was_ Rachel’s game?

Maybe Victoria’s hatred made more sense, if even Chloe agreed with it on some level after having it explained to her clearly and flatly.

“So … what do we do?”

Chloe sighed and sat back up on the edge of her bed.

She then jumped up to her feet, rolled her shoulders a bit with a grin, and stomped over to Max.

Max looked up to her carefully.

“Well. As I see it, we either get Rachel to stop fucking with us, or make Victoria not hate her so much so Rachel doesn’t feel any need to. Either way, something’s gotta give.”

Max considered this, but had a frown after not too long.

“Or … you could just stop talking to Rachel too, if you know she’s playing you.”

Chloe’s expression died a little bit, and she crossed her arms with a sigh.

“Yeah-I-mean I don’t know. We’re not super close … anymore, anyway … but she’s still fun to hang with. That’s a big ask.”

Max sighed and looked down.

“This is such a mess …”

Chloe hesitated, but uncrossed her arms to reach for Max’s chin and force her up to looking at Chloe again.

Chloe smiled.

Max did, too.

They shared it for a few moments.

“You’re the leader here, Mad Max. What do you think?”

 

Decisions, decisions.

Getting Chloe to break apart from Rachel might actually give some room for Chloe and Victoria to not hate each other, since Victoria’s biggest holdup seemed to be someone’s relationship with Rachel. Would Chloe be happy with that, though? Max would sure like it if Chloe and Victoria didn’t hate each other.

Max did want to get Victoria over her hatred of Rachel, but maybe it was justified somewhat? Rachel seemed to be playing games the second Max wasn’t playing along with her anymore. It was much easier to believe what Victoria said and understand it fully. And maybe Max just being there for her would eventually work that out?

Max couldn’t even begin to imagine how she and Chloe could convince Rachel to stop her games. That meant talking with Rachel again, but that was Victoria’s root issue with Rachel, wasn’t it? Maybe that problem would sort itself out. Victoria would understand. Max was pretty sure. Chloe might have an idea about how to go about it.

This decision felt almost more monumental than the first one she made, about who to go out with.

Ugh.

But at least Chloe and Victoria were by her side, probably ready to help her on whatever decision she made.

Max breathed in, closed her eyes, and let it out slowly.

 

###### Decisions

This is an interactive story. It's recommended you navigate the fic through these links instead of AO3's navigation system.

[< Choose last decision again](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12061389/chapters/29331126#feedback)

~~> End Rachel's Games~~   _(coming soon)_

 ~~> End Victoria's Jealousy~~   _(coming soon)_

 ~~> Cut Rachel out~~   _(coming soon)_


End file.
